THE 

LOST     TRAPPERS; 

A  COLLECTION  OF 
INTERESTING  SCENES  AND  EVENTS 


ROCKY  MOUNTAINS 


TOaiTBlft  WITH 


A  SHORT  DESCRIPTION  OF  CALIFORNIA! 


ALSO, 

SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PUR  TRADE. 

inncuxxT  as  cabeikd  oh  about  thb  soitxcis  op  xissouei,  rmudtm 

VTOin,  AXD  on  THK  WATEBS  OF  THB  COLUMBU, 
nr  TBI  BOCKT  MOUHTAIHt. 


BY  DAVID  H.  COTM«B« 


NEW  YORK 

HURST  &  COMPANY 

Publishers 


i^KTBKBii,  aooonling  to  Act  of  CongiMn,  in  toa  ymt  1047,  b^ 
i.aVI1>    H.  COYNER, 

in  tha  Clu^4 1 "ihue  ot  tne  District  Court  ot  the  taied  *^lMPm, 
in  and  for  the  Western  District  of  VirfbdA* 


C: 


9.  IX 


CONTENTS. 


laTB«ii»i70Tiinr • 


CHAPTER   I. 

CO  Lewis  and  Ciaike**  expedition  acroas  the  Rodcy  Moonlain*— Tbcii 

^  effbrta  to  secure  the  friendship  of  the  western  tribes— Their  presents 

^  to  the  naliTes— .They  persuade  a  Mandan  chie^  Big  A^lute,  to  d»> 

^  soend  the  Missouri   with  them  to  the  States — Object  of  Captain 

^  Williams'  expedition — Number  of  men  and  their  outfit — ^llie  route 

S  tfiey  took— Annoyed  by  a  band  of  wolveft— One  caught  in  a  trap— 

aie  IKfficulty  in  regaining  the  trap— Frontier  mode  of  driring  off  wolvei 

^  —Dose  of  fish-hooks — Some  of  the  horses  misaing—  the  Mandan 

^  dkief  of  great  serrioe  to  the  party S 


CHAPTER  II. 

Kansas  Indians  and  Kansas  river— Signs  of  buffido— Speed  oi  dM  An* 
telope— A  hunting  party  of  the  Kansas— A  man  frightened  in  a 
dream — Kansas  braves  visit  Captain  Williams'  camp— The  company 
visit  the  Kansas  village,  and  are  received  with  great  parad»— Kind 
fcdings  of  the  tribe  for  the  party — A  buffiJo  hunt  on  hand—  Kansas 
were  experienced  horsemen  and  hunters— Buffido  plenty,  and  a  great 
bant — ^The  grace  and  spirit  of  the  Indians  in  the  hunt  .  '•  •  .  .SI 

CHAPTER  III. 

A  kbck  bear  is  killed— A  trade,  a  horse  fiir  a  dog — A  panorama— ITii 
m^  9m\R]|fs9  by  «^  dog  traded  to  the  chie^Tbay  meet  a  somI 


nr  OOHTEHTB. 

pvtj  of  Kansas,  by  whom  the  renegado  dog  is  retained  to  Us  afwmi 
^Jlnnning  of  bufialo,  and  danger  to  be  apprehended— The  plan  te 
•Toid  it — Vast  number  of  buffalo— A  man  lost— His  critical  ntuaticHi 
—He  is  found  the  next  day — His  report  of  liis  night  in  the  prairie  .  37 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Indian  scouts— Vigilance  of  the  party — They  reach  the  Platte— One  of 
the  party  becomes  sick — The  way  to  kill  antelope — Pawnees  come  jd 
the  camp— They  feel  very  much  for  the  sick  man — ^The  vapor  bath 
cure  fcr  every  thing — The  sick  man  dies — Indian  honors  bestowed 
upon  their  dead — A  band  of  wolves  on  the  grave  of  Hamilton,  digging 
ap  his  body — This  is  a  common  thing 4li 

CHAPTER  V. 

Character  of  the  country — Opinion  of  geologists— Rapid  growth  nf  timbei 
— Beautiful  sight — Prairie  on  fire  at  night — A  lone  tree— A  band  of 
wolves  chasing  a  young  bufililo  bull,  and  killing  him — They  kill  ■ 
great  many  calves — Sudden  arrival  of  two  young  Indians,  a  Pawnee 
young  man  and  a  Sioux  gul .....SI 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Story  of  the  Ren^ade  Lovers,  Doranto  and  Niargua    ••••.•  iS 

CHAPTER   VII. 

ftonx  and  Sionx  country — Land  Pirates — Strength  of  the  Sioux— 
i)oubtful  character  of  the  statements  about  the  numbers  of  the  western 
tribes — Sioux's  intention  to  intercept  the  return  of  Big  White— Car- 
son lost  again— His  horse  killed  in  a  buffalo  chase — Buffalo  hunting 
—Its  dangers— Strength,  activity  and  size  of  the  bufialo— Purity  and 
dryness  of  the  atmosphere— Indian  encampment— Arrival  at  Foit 
Mandan TV 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

J«gr  of  the  Mandans  on  the  arrival  of  their  chief— Indian  gravity  and  sl- 
lenefr^-Their  mutual  attachment— Their  grief  fiv  the  dead — Repoas 


eoVTIHTf 


rf  tiie  partj — ^Thcy  resume  their  joumej— Unknown  danger  befeiv 

Ihem— Black-feet  Indians— Their  hostility  to  the  whites Yellow 

tSttme^-Hunter's  Elydum — Indian  caught  in  a  trap— Five  men  killed 
b  a  bnffiilo  hunt  by  the  Black-feet — Danger  of  the  company — ^thej 
laaTe  that  region— Crows— One  of  their  men  leaves  them      ...  83 


CHAPTER  IX. 

tcse,  the  scape-goat  refugee— The  Crow  Indians,  and  a  Crow's  de#i 
cription  of  their  country 91 


CHAPTER   X. 

Another  disaster  befalls  the  party— All  the  horses  are  stolen— i^  flpit 
with  the  Indians — Five  more  of  the  party  killed,  and  nineteen  savages 
killed  and  mortally  wounded— The  party  cache  their  furs,  etc^  and 
leave  the  country— They  reach  the  Arkansas— Their  trapping  opera- 
tions there— All  killed  but  Captain  Williams  and  two  others  .   .  »00 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Hia  forlorn  situation  of  the  three  trappers— Their  separation Ignorjtncf 

on  the  part  of  Indians  at  this  day  of  the  efficiency  of  our  rifles— Great 

sacrifice  of  life— Policy  to  be  observed  in  fighting  Indians Cache 

their  fiirs— Williams  holds  on  to  his  purpose— His  perplexities— His 
misteke— A  bull  bait— Travel  day  and  night— Vast  number  of  buffalo 
—A  bull  fight— Gangs  of  wild  horses— Contest  with  a  bear— Beaver 
tail  great  delicacy— Description  of  the  beaver,  and  mode  of  taking  him 
in  traps— Beaver  resembles  a  dog ;  his  food— Williams*  firmness- 
Three  Kansas ;  their  treacherous  designs— Williams  runs  into  dangen 
is  made  a  prisoner— Set  at  liberty  again,  but  loses  all  his  furs  .   .  10« 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Mixing  and  intermarrying  between  white  and  red  men— A  numerous 
hybrid  race — The  consequence,  an  improved  race— Captain  Williams 
'    great  perplexity  and  somewhat  frightened— A  mysterious  afiair— 
Fort  Cooper— Cibley  secures  the  lost  fiirs  to  Captain  Wil- 
'   •   " 121 


OOMTBHTI. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Captain  Williams  met  with  difficulty  in  raising  another  paitj — Gania» 
ches  and  their  horsemanship,  and  way  of  fighting  on  horseback — On 
35th  of  December  Joseph  and  William  Cooper  set  out  with  Captain 
Williams — Fort  Osage,  Osage  river — Neasho  river — Their  sufferings 
— Want  of  food  —  Walnuts  —  They  kill  eight  squirrels  —  Indian 
camps  and  Osage  Indians — An  Indian  squaw  prepares  a  repast  for  tha 
men — One  of  the  men  faints — Kill  two  buffalo  bulls— Strong  wind — 
Wild  horses — Wolves,  their  nature— A  poor  Uttle  wolf  and  a  &t 
coon — An  old  wild  stud  killed — His  meat  rank — ^They  reach  the 
cacha — Kill  their  horses — Kill  six  bufialo— Make  bull  boat — Suffer- 
icg  from  cold — ^The  Plum  thicket — A  band  of  wolves  after  a  bull — A 
prayer-book  is  burnt — Party  discovered  by  Camanches — Move  to  an- 
<}ther  thicket — Set  cff  down  the  river — Again  reach  the  Mis- 
.  IM 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Arkansas  river — Hunter's  paradise — Its  source— Statements  of  Pike^ 
Workman  and  Spencer  descend  the  Colorado — Scenery  of  that 
river — Spanish  Caravan — They  go  to  Upper  California — Spend  the 
winter  in  that  countiy,  examining  the  country — Retam  to  Santa 
Fe 144 


CHAPTER   XV. 

The  two  trappers  try  their  luck  in  Santa  Fe  for  several  years — Santa  Fe 
trade  opens — An  opportunity  to  return  to  the  States — An  escort  sent  by 
the  Governor  jf  Santa  Fe— Captain  Vlscano's  dreadful  figh!  with  the 
Camanches  on  the  Semirone— Several  killed  on  both  sides — The  noo 
tumal  tramp  express  to  Captain  Riley  on  the  Arkansas — Mysterious 
horaa  and  thousandsof  mysteries— A  bold  attempt,  result  amu^ng,  17tl 


CHAPTER   XVL 

People  of  California — Priests — Missionary  establishments — Amusement* 
—Boll  nod  bear  nghts — Immense  number  of  horses  and  cattle  .    M 


€0«TBHTS.  Til 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

OmeiifAan  of  4tm  uoH,  climate,  health,  and  produdioiia  of  Uppci 
CaUfbrnia S09 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Fe  Trade tl 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
trade— TIm  bte  of  the  ToiMiain tit 


INTRODUCTION, 


DiTBiNG  a  residence  of  three  years,  1846-6-7,  in  the 
opper  part  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  I  was  occasion- 
ally employed  in  redeeming  a  promise  made  to  an 
editor  of  a  newspaper  in  Virginia,  the  state  from 
which  I  emigrated,  to  send  him  for  his  paper 
such  materials  of  a  frontier  character,  as  I  might  be 
able  to  pick  up,  and  as  would  form  interesting  com- 
mtinications  for  his  columns.  When  I  took  up  my 
residence  in  that  State,  I  found  myself  among  a 
people  much  moved  and  stimulated  by  western  en- 
terprise ;  a  people  not  only  familiar  with  frontier 
scenes  and  events,  but  deeply  interested  in  things 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  state.  Many  of 
them  I  observed  were  engaged  in  the  Santa  F6 
trade,  and  were  making  their  regular  annual  trips 
across  the  plains  to  New  Mexico.  I  frequently 
■ought  the  company  of  such  gentlemen,  whom  I 
found  no^  only  intelligent,  but  kind,  and  ready  to 


I  IHTROOaCTIOH. 

communicate  any  thing  I  desired.  Some  of  them, 
indeed  all  that  I  met  with,  would  entertain  me  for 
hours  frequently,  with  interesting  accounts  of  their 
difficulties  in  the  various  expeditions  in  which  they 
had  been  engaged.  I  made  it  a  rule  to  note  down 
all  the  important  oral  information,  that  I  was  able 
to  procure.  Several  gentlemen  furnished  me  with 
a  number  of  very  interesting  facts  on  paper,  which 
were  of  great  service  to  me  in  the  work  I  now  offer 
to  the  public.  I  soon  found  that  the  materials  ac- 
cumulated on  my  hands  too  fast,  and  in  too  great 
quantity  to  be  published  in  a  newspaper,  at  so 
great  a  distance.  I  also  met  with  a  number  of  men 
who  had  been  to  Oregon  and  California,  and  some 
who  had  spent  several  years  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. From  such  1  drew  a  great  many  interesting 
facts,  which  are  interwoven  in  this  work.  The 
most  interesting  facts,  however,  that  1  was  able  to 
gather,  I  found  in  an  old  musty,  mutilated  journal, 
kept  by  Captain  Williams,  and  other  papers  fur- 
nished by  Workman  and  Col.  Cooper,  of  Howard 
county,  Missouri,  giving  an  account  of  the  expedi- 
tion, the  history  of  which,  makes  the  greater  part 
of  this  volume.  It  is  due  to  myself  to  state,  that 
these  papers  were  so  badly  written,  and  so  defective 
in  many  respects,  that  I  aimed  simply  to  get  the  facts, 
which  I  always  clothed  in  my  own  words.     Many 


INTRODUCTION  U 

of  the  most  interesting  facts  that  are  intersptsrsed 
through  this  work,  I  procured  in  conversation  with 
g«ntlemin,  who  as  I  have  said,  had  spent  years  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  had  traveled  through 
Oregon  and  California. 

My  reasons   for  offering  an  account  of  Captain 
Williams'  expedition  to  the  public,  are,  that  I  believe 
that  just  at  this  time,  it  would  be  interesting  to  the 
great  majority  of  readers.     Indeed  any  book  detail- 
ing the  trials  and  difficulties  of  those  early  adven- 
turers, will  be  read  with  avidity.     Any  publication, 
throwing  any  lighten  that  vast  wilderness  between 
the  States  and  the  Pacific,  and  calculated  to  open  its 
secrets,  will  be  read  with  interest.     Events  are  now 
transpiring,  that  throw  around  the  regions  of  the 
far  west,  an  interest,  which  they  never  possessed 
before.     The  Oregon   question  is  settled,  and  our 
citizens  are   going  there  every  summer  season  by 
thousands.     California  is  likely  to  become  ours,  and 
who  will  venture  to  limit  the  number  of  persona 
emigrating  there,  if  it  should  be  attached  to  our  do- 
main ?    A  mail  route  from  the  States   across  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  is   talked  of  in  high  places,  and 
among  the  great  ones  of  our  government ;  and  even 
the  idea  of  a  great  rail-way  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains  has  entered   the  minds  of  some.     Our 
government  will,  doubtless,  soon  adopt  measures  to 
establish  a  cordon  of  iniUtary  posts  between  tb« 


lii  INTRODUCTIOH. 

State  of  Missouri  and  the  settlements  on  the  waten 
of  the  Columbia.  Each  one  of  those  posts  will  be 
a  nucleus  around  which  our  adventurous  citizens 
will  be  sure  to  collect  and  form  colonies,  that  will 
expand  and  cover  the  whole  land.  It  may  be  said 
that  such  enterprises  \\'ill  be  beset  with  dangers 
and  trials  and  hardships,  and  these  things  will  de- 
ter men  from  such  undertakings.  But  these  are  the 
very  exciting  causes  that  will  prompt  men  to  bold 
adventure.  Those  frontier  men  are  fond  of  excite- 
ment, and  they  desire  to  be  surrounded  by  exciting 
circumstances.  They  are  even  fond  of  trials  and 
hardships  and  dangers,  for  they  stimulate  and  sus- 
tain. Look  at  the  trapper  as  he  dashes  into  a  wil- 
derness full  of  danger,  to  pursue  his  favorite  em- 
ployment. He  is  conscious  that  his  undertaking 
is  very  hazardous.  He  is  aware  that  he  is  liable 
to  be  discovered  by  the  savages  every  day,  and  to  be 
cut  off.  As  he  paddles  about  in  his  little  canoe  on 
some  nameless  stream,  he  expects  every  moment  to 
be  surprised  by  the  hideous  yells  of  ruthless  foes, 
from  whom  no  mercy  can  be  expected.  As  he 
passes  along  through  some  solitary  and  dark  ravine 
of  the  mountains,  he  sees  the  bones  and  grinning 
skulls  of  his  brethren,  who  were  waylaid  by  the 
•avages,  and  fell  by  their  cruel  hand.  He  is 
compelled  to  keep  his  arms  in  his  hands,  night  as 
well  as  day ;  nor  does  he  dare  for  one  moment  1$ 


urTBoouoTioM.  zifl 

relax  in  his  vigilance.  If  he  venture  to  cloee  hif 
eyes  in  aleep,  it  is  only  to  snatch  a  morsel  of  rest, 
and  then  to  start  up,  perhaps  to  witness  some  new 
danger  in  his  vicinity.  This  is  a  trapper's  life  ;  a 
life  of  sleepless  vigilance,  of  constant  toil  and  dan- 
ger :  and  yet  he  prefers  it  to  any  other  kind  of  life. 
A  strange  infatuation  possesses  him,  that  makes 
him  passionately  fond  of  the  excitement  of  the  wil- 
derness. He  despises  the  dull  uniformity  and  mo- 
notony of  civilized  life,  when  compared  in  his  mind 
with  the  stirring  scenes  of  wild  western  adventure. 
The  security  and  protection  of  the  laws  have  no  at- 
traction for  him  ;  for  he  wants  no  other  means  of 
defence  than  his  rifle,  which  is  his  daily  companion. 
He  is  impatient  of  the  formalities  and  the  galling 
restrictions  of  well  organized  societj'',  and  prefers 
the  latitude  and  liberty  of  a  life  in  the  woods. 
Seated  by  his  fire,  in  his  camp,  with  a  beaver  tail 
spitted  before  him,  or  feasting  upon  his  buifalo 
tongue,  or  buffalo  beef,  or  buffalo  marrow  bones,  with 
a  piece  of  dry  bark  for  a  plate,  he  lives  better  and 
feels  better,  and  enjoys  his  repast  with  a  better  zest 
than  the  citizen  who  is  surrounded  with  all  ths 
comforts  and  luxuries  of  a  metropolis. 

As  to  the  statements  that  I  have  made  about 
California,  I  would  mention  that  they  were  fur 
nished  by  men  whose  veracity  I  had  no  right  to 
f  aestion.    I  have  not  seen  that  country.     But  if  J 


liT  IttftObtTCTlOV. 

had,  and  my  accoant  had  been  made  from  persona, 
observation,  my  statements  would  have  been  those 
of  one  man  only.  I  furnish  that  kind  of  represen- 
tation of  California  which  speaks  the  larger  aye  of 
a  majority  of  those  who  have  been  there.  I  col- 
lected quite  a  number  of  items  in  relation  to  the 
climate,  fertility,  and  soil,  and  productions  of  that 
country,  which  I  withhold  in  this  book,  not  that  1 
disbelieve  them,  but  because  I  was  apprehensive 
that  I  might  be  regarded  as  imposing  too  heavy  a 
tax  on  the  credulity  of  my  readers.  I  know  that 
many  descriptions  of  the  far  west  are  too  highly 
colored  ;  that  many  have  been  misled  by  them,  and 
are  ready  to  deplore  the  hour  they  read  them.  But 
it  seems  to  me  that  men  ought  to  be  able  to  distin- 
goish  those  accounts  that  are  extravagant  and  wild 
from  those  that  are  sober  and  wear  the  aspect  of 
truth.  Again,  there  are  many  persons  who  will  re- 
ceive any  thing  as  truth,  that  may  be  said  about  the 
many  and  superior  advantages  in  the  regions  of  the 
west.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  they  are  misled, 
and  do  not  find  things  as  they  expected,  in  those 
countries.  I  met  with  persons  in  Missouri,  who  had 
moved  to  Oregon  and  California ;  but  whilst  there 
they  became  dissatisfied,  and  returned  over  a  long 
journey  of  two  thousand  miles.  I  have  also  been  in- 
furmed  that  many  are  moving  from  Oregon  to  Cali 
fomia,  and  from  California  to  Oregon.     This  onl^ 


IHTSODUCTIOll.  Zf 

proves  that  as  long  as  '  e  is  any  country  ahead,  or  to 
which  emigrants  can  o  there  are  some  persons  of 
unsettled  and  dissatisfied  feelings,  who  will  always 
be  traveling.  I  never  ask  information  from  such 
persons  about  the  countries  they  may  have  seen. 

As  to  all  the  representations  then,  in  this  volume, 
I  honestly  believe  that  they  may  be  assumed  as 
cfrdenday  in  which  every  confidence  may  be  reposed 
hy  those  who  may  read  them. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


THE  LOST  TRAPPERS. 


I>VWVW^>WW 


CHAPTER   I. 

Lewis  find  Clarke's  expedition  across  the  Ro(^  Moantains-.4lMii 
^orts  to  secure  the  friendship  of  &e  western  tribes — their  ph«senli 
to  the  natives.  They  persuade  a  Mandan  chief^  Big  White,  to  d^ 
•cend  the  Missouri  with  them  to  the  States.  Object  of  Captain 
Williams*  expedition — number  of  men  and  their  outfit — the  route 
they  took — annoyed  by  a  band  of  wolves— one  caught  in  a  trap- 
difficulty  in  regaining  the  trap.  Frontier  mode  of  driving  off  wolves 
—-dose  of  fish-hooks — some  of  the  horses  missing.  The  Mandan 
chief  of  great  service  to  the  party. 

By  those  who  have  read  the  expedition  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  across  the  Rocky  mountains,  it  will  be 
remembered  that  they  endeavored,  by  all  possible 
means,  to  assure  the  many  Indian  tribes  in  the  far 
west,  of  the  kind  feelings  and  intentions  enter- 
tained towards  them  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  desire  of  said  government 
to  create  and  establish  upon  a  permanent  basis, 
those  friendly  relations,  between  the  different  tribes 
themselves  and  the  United  States,  that  were  pre- 
ferable to  those  constant  hostilities  that  then  ex- 
isted, and  would  prove  a  source  of  great  and  almost 
innumerable  blessings  and  benefits  to  all  parties 
3  U 


18  THE    I  OST    TRAPPERS. 

To  effect  this  the  more  readily,  that  party  took  witk 
them  a  considerable  amount  of  merchandise,  con- 
sisting of  such  articles  as  were  most  likely  to 
please  those  rude  and  unpolished  children  of  the 
forest.  It  was  also  the  design  of  Lewis  and  Clarke 
to  impress  them  as  far  as  they  could,  with  the  num- 
ber, strength  and  greatness  of  our  people,  that 
they  might  see  the  importance  and  advantage  of 
always  being  at  peace  with  such  a  people.  To 
this  end,  on  their  return  they  were  anxious  to  bring 
with  them,  to  the  States,  as  many  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  different  tribes  as  could  be  persuaded  to  ac- 
company them.  But  in  this  they  almost  entirely 
failed,  as  the  Indians,  generally,  were  very  suspi- 
cious, and  expressed  their  fears  that  those,  that 
might  go,  would  never  return  to  their  tribes.  Hav- 
ing wintered  among  the  Mandans,  whose  villages 
are  high  up  the  Missouri  river,  on  their  way  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  company,  to  some  extent, 
had  gained  the  confidence  of  that  tribe,  and  on  their 
way  home  prevailed  on  one  of  their  chiefs,  Big 
White,  to  go  with  them,  and  to  take  with  him  his 
wife  and  son,  to  see  our  people  tmd  President. 
The  Mandans,  at  that  time,  were  at  war  with  the 
Sioux,  a  numerous,  war-like  and  formidable  tribe, 
whose  villages  were  below  on  the  Missouri,  and 
who  would  intercept,  if  they  could,  any  of  the  Man- 
dans going  down  the  river,  and  cut  them  off.  This 
fact  was  a  matter  of  much  dread  and  anxiety  to 
the  chief.  Big  White,  and  promised  to  be  an  insu- 
perable barrier  in  the  way;  but  Capt.  Lewis  placed 
himself  under  every  obligation  to  protect  hipci,  and 


THE    LOST    TRAPPEBI.  19 

gave  a  pledge  in  behalf  of  his  government,  that  a 
company  of  armed  men  should  guard  him  on  his 
return  to  his  tribe.  As  this  pledge  was  redeemed 
by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  it  is  our 
purpose  in  this  volume  to  give  the  history  of  tho 
expedition,  the  object  of  which  was,  not  only  Uf 
guard  the  Mandan  brave  to  his  home  in  the  fa* 
west,  but  to  explore  the  country  on  the  waters  ol 
the  Missouri,  to  trap  for  beaver,  and  even  to  pene 
trate  and  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1807,  that  this  expedition 
set  out  from  St.  Louis.  The  party  consisted  of 
twenty  men,  under  the  direction  of  Captain  Ezekiel 
Williams,  a  man  of  great  perseverance,  patience, 
and  much  unflinching  determination  of  character. 
His  men,  being  citizens  of  Missouri,  which  was,  at 
that  early  day,  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness,  were 
all  accustomed  to  the  privations  and  hardships  of  a 
frontier  life,  and  like  most  frontier  men,  fond  of  ad- 
ventures and  daring  enterprises;  well  skilled  in 
the  use  of  the  rifle,  and  entertaining  a  strong  par- 
tiality for  those  hazards  and  exploits  that  are  pecu- 
liar to  a  frontier  and  savage  life. 

The  outfit  of  each  man  was  a  rifle,  together  witn 
as  much  powder  and  lead  as  it  was  supposed 
would  last  for  two  years.  Each  one  took  six  traps, 
which  were  packed  upon  an  extra  horse  witli 
which  each  man  was  furnished.  Pistols,  awls,  axes, 
knives,  camp  kettles,  blankets,  and  various  other 
essential  little  articles,  also  made  a  part  of  the 
equipage.  Captain  Williams  provided  himself  with 
an  assortment  of  light  portable  little  notions,  in* 


20  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

tended  as  presents  for  the  Indians.  To  the  expedi- 
tion belonged  also  four  dogs,  (great  favorites  of 
their  masters,)  one  of  which  was  a  very  superior 
gray-hound,  that  was  taken  along  by  his  owner  to 
catch  deer  on  the  plains. 

On  the  25th  of  April  the  part}^  were  on  then 
way,  exhibiting  all  the  glee,  and  excitement,  and 
laughter,  of  men  enjoying  the  wild  freedom  of  fron- 
tier life,  and  expecting  to  pass  through  scenes  of 
adventure  and  danger  that  would  fully  test  their 
patience  and  courage,  and  perhaps  be  marked  by 
the  effusion  of  blood.  At  that  season  of  the  year, 
there  was  a  sufficiency  of  grass  for  their  horses, 
and  as  for  themselves,  it  was  their  purpose  to  de- 
pend on  their  rifles  for  pro\^sions.  As  it  was  the 
purpose  of  Captain  Williams  to  reach  Fort  Man- 
dan  as  early  in  the  trapping  season  as  practicable, 
the  party  abandoned  the  meanderings  of  the  Mis- 
souri, and  launched  forth  into  those  seas  of  prairie 
on  the  south  side  of  said  river,  with  no  other  guide 
than  that  very  imperfect  knowledge  which  was  then 
had  of  the  country  The  expedition  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke  was  confined  to  the  Missouri,  as  they  went 
up  and  came  do^^^l.  The  party  headed  by  Captain 
Williams  was  the  first  overland  expedition  ever 
undertaken  to  and  across  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
from  the  United  States.  Some  of  the  party  had  been 
up  the  Missouri  river  some  distance,  trading  with 
the  Indians  for  furs,  but  none  of  the  company  had 
any  knowledge  of  the  country  through  which  they 
had  to  pass,  from  personal  observation.  The  diffi 
culties,  tberefor'i,  which  they  had  to  encounter,  were 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  71 

verj  numerous  and  trjdng.  But  they  found  th« 
Mandan  chief,  Big  White,  to  be  of  great  value  to 
them,  as  an  observance  of  his  timely  suggestions 
and  counsel,  very  often  prevented  the  party  from 
being  entirely  cut  off.  He  always  urged  upon 
Captain  Williams  the  great  importance  of  constant 
vigilance  day  and  night,  the  strictest  attention  to 
the  position  of  their  encampments,  and  the  situa- 
tion of  their  horses.  The  captain  learned  from  him, 
that  the  Indian,  although  generally  inclined  to  sur- 
prise, assault,  and  kill,  was  not  given  to  rash  and 
careless  adventure;  and  that  he  would  never  at- 
tack a  party  that  were  prepared  and  on  the  alert. 
About  twenty-five  miles  was  the  distance  the} 
traveled  each  day.  When  night  approached,  they 
selected  a  position  to  camp  where  wood,  water,  and 
grass  were  convenient.  Large  fires  for  the  first 
eight  or  ten  nights  were  kindled  up,  around  which 
they  gathered  and  roasted  their  fat  venison,  and 
ate,  and  laughed,  and  talked,  and  passed  their 
rough  jokes,  until  they  sunk  into  the  embraces 
of  sleep.  This  unguarded  and  careless  way  of 
encamping,  however,  was  abandoned  when  they 
entered  the  region  of  country  infested  with  savage 
and  hostile  bands  of  Indians,  ageiinst  whose  assaults 
they  found  it  necessary  to  guard  at  all  times.  For 
the  first  two  hundred  miles,  game  was  not  very 
abundant,  although  they  killed  enough  to  supply 
them  with  provisions.  About  the  twelfth  day,  the 
prairies  seemed  to  enlarge  and  approach  nearer 
the  river.  Timber  was  not  so  abundant.  The  face 
of  tlie  country  improved  and  was  much  more  in 


82  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

teresting,  and  the  soil  was  evidently  richer  as  inej 
traveled  westward. 

On  the  evening  of  the  twelfth  day,  the  party 
were  encamped  in  the  edge  of  a  beautiful  prairie 
about  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  St.  Louis 
having  crossed  the  Gasconade,  the  Osage,  and  sev- 
eral affluents  to  the  Missouri.  Two  very  fine  deei 
were  killed  by  some  of  the  company  near  the  en 
campment,  the  blood  and  entrails  of  which  at^ 
tracted  a  band  of  hungry,  saucy  wolves  near  the 
company.  There  were  not  less  than  twenty,  of 
different  sizes  and  color ;  and  some  of  the  smaller 
kind,  that  were  crowded  out  of  the  feast,  kept  up  a 
very  plaintive  whine  and  howl.  The  dogs  belong- 
ing to  the  company  began  to  bark  very  fiercely, 
and  rushed  out  after  them  and  pursued  them  round 
a  point  of  timber ;  but  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of 
eight  of  the  company,  the  wolves  turned  upon  their 
pursuers  and  chased  them  back  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  csimp.  One  of  the  dogs,  the  most  re- 
solute of  the  pack,  in  a  bold  attempt  to  stand  his 
ground,  was  seized  by  as  many  as  could  get  at 
him,  and  was  torn  to  pieces  almost  instantly.  That 
evening,  one  of  the  men  set  one  of  his  traps,  which 
he  baited  by  a  piece  of  venison,  hung  on  a  bush 
immediately  above  the  trap.  In  the  morning,  not 
only  the  venison,  but  the  trap  was  gone,  much  to 
the  surprise  and  mortification  of  the  inexperienced 
trapper,  who,  knowing  but  little  about  the  business, 
had  not  observed  the  precaution  of  fastening  the 
trap  to  something  permanent. 

Whilst  breakfast  was  being  prepared,  and  th^ 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS,  «• 

horses  were  filling  themselves  with  grass,  the  un- 
lucky trapper  went  in  quest  of  his  trap.  A  wolf 
had  heen  caught,  and  as  he  dragged  the  trap  along 
he  left  a  very  distinct  trace  in  the  grass,  by  which 
he  was  easily  followed.  But  he  had  crept  into  a 
very  thick  patch  of  brush,  made  almost  impenetra- 
ble by  a  rank  growth  of  hazel.  And  how  was  the 
trap  to  be  recovered?  The  wolf  was  doubtlesg 
alive,  and  it  would  be  very  hazardous  to  attempt  to 
enter  his  place  of  refuge.  An  efibrt  waa  made  to 
encourage  the  dogs  to  go  in,  but  they  recollected 
the  rough  fare  they  experienced  the  previous  eve- 
ning, and  would  not  go  beyond  the  edge  of  the 
thicket.  In  the  midst  of  his  perplexities,  the 
young  trapper  was  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  two 
of  the  company,  one  of  whom  climbed  a  pin-oak 
tree,  that  stood  in  the  edge  of  the  brush,  and  from 
the  top  of  which  he  had  a  fair  view  of  the  formi- 
dable occupant  of  the  brush-patch,  and  shot  him 
with  his  rifle.  All  danger  being  now  removed,  the 
dead  wolf  was  dragged  from  his  fastness,  with 
one  of  his  fore  feet  in  the  trap.  He  was  of  the 
largest  kind,  and  almost  black.  As  there  were  no 
wolves  to  be  seen  on  the  prairie  in  the  morning,  it 
was  feared  that  all  of  them  had  been  led  ofi*  by  the 
one  in  the  trap  :  and  that  trap  and  wolf  would  not 
be  Been  again. 

On  the  frontier,  where  wolves  are  very  trouble- 
•ome,  the  follov^dng  expedient  is  sometimes  resorted 
to,  to  drive  them  out  of  the  country.  Several  fish- 
hooks are  tied  together  by  their  shanks,  with  a  silk 
thread,  and  put  in  a  piece  of  fresh  meat,  which  k 


S4  TBBLOSTTBAPPElt. 

dropped  where  it  is  likely  to  be  found  by  them.  Yhf 
hooks  are  buried  completely  in  the  meat  and  made 
very  fast  to  prevent  the  wolf  from  shaking  thea 
off;  for  it  is  said  by  those  acquainted  with  tht 
habits  of  wolves,  that  they  never  eat  a  morsel  of 
any  thing  without  first  picking  it  up  very  cautiously 
and  giving  it  a  shake.  When  the  piece  of  meat  i» 
swallowed,  the  hooks  generally  stick  fast  in  the 
throat,  inflicting  the  most  excruciating  pain.  The 
unlucky  wolf  immediately  begins  to  scratch  and 
tear  his  neck,  and  howl  most  piteously.  In  this 
condition  he  hurries  away  from  the  place  of  his 
great  mishap,  running,  and  raving,  and  scratching, 
and  howling.  Curiosity  and  fellow-feeling,  or  some 
other  feeling,  equally  active,  prompts  every  other 
wolf  in  sight  and  in  hearing,  to  follow.  Away  the 
gang  goes,  increasing  as  it  goes,  until  exery  wolf 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  route  is  taken  in,  and  taken 
away  perhaps  fifty  miles  from  the  place  where  the 
matter  began. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  ex 
pedition,  which  was  the  ninth  of  May,  another 
little  mishap  took  place,  which  created  some  anx- 
iety of  mind  and  loss  of  time.  Five  of  the  horses 
were  missing.  The  part}%  at  first,  were  inclined 
to  think  they  were  taken  by  the  Indians ;  but,  as 
yet,  they  had  not  apprehended  any  thing  of  this 
kind,  as  they  had  not  reached  the  country  beset 
with  danger.  The  horses,  perhaps,  had  broken 
Aeir  fetters  and  straggled  off.  Big  White  told  them 
that  their  horses  were  not  stolen ;  that  Indians 
ooold  have  stolen  all  of  them  as  easily,  if  not  more 


TBS    LOST    TRAPPBSS  31 

easily  than  five,  and  if  they  had  taken  five,  the^ 
would  have  taken  all.  This  very  reasonable  sug- 
gestion of  one  well  acquainted  with  the  practices 
and  customs  of  Indians,  prompted  the  men  to  make 
an  effort  to  find  them.  Their  trail  was  soon  found 
in  the  greiss,  and  was  made  very  plain  by  the  dew. 
It  led  back,  the  way  the  party  came.  The  horses 
had,  by  some  means,  cleared  themselves  of  their 
•hackles,  and  were  now  striking  for  home ;  and  it 
was  not  until  evening  that  they  were  overtaken 
and  brought  back. 

A  day  was  lost,  but  the  company,  by  the  circum- 
stance, were  taught  the  importance  of  being  more 
cautious,  particularly  at  night.  The  Mandan  chief 
also  took  occasion  to  allude  to  that  which  had  been 
a  matter  of  much  anxious  concern,  to  his  mind. 
He  told  them,  that  thus  far  they  had  been  on  safe 
ground,  and  that  no  harm  might  result  from  the  ab- 
sence of  that  vigilance  and  caution,  that  elsewhere 
would  be  indispensable  for  their  safety.  An  Indian 
by  birth  and  education,  he  knew  the  habits  and 
practices  of  the  difierent  tribes  in  the  far  west, 
much  better  than  any  of  the  party.  Their  journey 
was  long,  very  long,  and  led  through  a  country  oc- 
cupied by  tribes  that  would  waylay  them  in  every 
ravine,  and  watch  their  movements  from  the  top  of 
every  eminence,  for  the  purpose  of  surprising  them 
and  taking  their  equipage,  horses,  and  perhaps 
scalps.  The  counsel  of  the  venerable  warrior,  de 
livered  with  great  earnestness  and  Indian  gravity, 
had  its  efiect.  The  company  adopted  the  plan  of 
journeying  until  about  an  hour  before  sunset,  when 


€0  THE    LOST    TRAPPES8. 

they  came  to  a  halt,  relieved  their  horses  of  theli 
burdens,  and  turned  them  out  to  grass.  In  the 
mean  time,  a  fire  was  struck,  and  repast  for  the 
men  prepared.  About  dark  the  horses  were  brought 
in,  and  saddles  and  baggage  placed  upon  them. 
The  fires  were  renewed,  and  the  company  would 
then  spring  into  their  saddles  and  push  on  some 
eight  or  ten  miles  further :  where  they  would  come 
to  a  second  stop,  relieve  their  horses  of  their  bur- 
dens, tether  them,  and  station  their  guards.  The> 
divided  the  night  into  four  watches,  and  each  watch 
was  kept  by  three  men,  whilst  the  others,  wrapped 
up  in  their  blankets,  were  reposing  upon  the 
ground.  Fires  were  not  rziised,  as  the  light  could 
be  seen  at  a  great  distance  on  those  extensive 
prairies,  and  might  betray  them  into  the  hands  of 
some  lurking  foe. 

In  the  morning,  some  moved  the  horses  to  fresh 
grass,  that  they  might  the  more  easily  fill  them- 
selves ;  whilst  others  were  expediting  their  morn- 
ing repast,  and  attending  to  the  other  offices  be- 
longing to  an  encampment.  By  sunrise,  generally 
they  were  going  ahead. 


CHAPTER  II. 

fLiirsAa  Indians  and  Kansas  river— Signs  of  buf&lo-— Speed  of  Um  Aa 
telope— A  hunting  party  of  the  Kansas — A  man  frightened  in  a 
dream.  Kansas  braves  visit  Captain  Williams'  camp — The  companj 
visit  the  Kansas  village,  and  are  received  with  great  parade — Kind 
feelings  of  the  tribe  for  the  party.  A  bufialo  huni  on  hand — Kansas 
were  experienced  horsemen  and  hunters—  Bufialo  plenty,  and  a  great 
hu||t — The  grace  and  spirit  of  the  Indians  in  the  hunt 

In  the  journal  before  me,  nothing  is  noted  of 
much  importance,  until  they  reached  the  Kansas 
river,  an  affluent  to  the  Missouri.  This  river  rises 
in  the  plains  west,  and  runs  east  into  the  Mis- 
souri. It  is  about  three  hundred  and  thirty  yards 
wide.  The  party  were  able  to  ford  it.  When  they 
were  about  ten  miles  from  this  river,  they  saw,  as 
they  thought,  several  Indians ;  but  they  soon  lost 
sight  of  them.  As  they  approached  the  Kansas, 
they  observed  a  great  many  horse  tracks,  some  of 
which  were  very  fresh,  and  several  places  where 
bufialo  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians.  They  were 
evidently  in  the  neighborhood  of  Indian  villages. 
Big  White  said  they  were  the  Kansas  tribe,  a  fierce 
and  warlike  nation.  They  had  lived  higher  up  the 
Missouri,  where  they  were  involved  in  a  number  of 
unfortunate  wars  with  some  of  the  neighboring 
tribes,  which  nearly  resulted  in  their  extinction. 
They  had  been  nearly  broken  down,  and  lost  quite 

t7 


t8  THE     LOST    TRAPPERA. 

a  nnmber  of  their  braves.  They  were  driven  dowi 
towards  the  Kansas,  about  one  hundred  miles 
There  was  much  sign  of  buffalo,  and  the  men  wer« 
anxious  to  engage  in  a  buffalo  hunt.  Two  ante- 
lopes were  seen  on  the  prairies,  wheeling  and 
prancing  about,  and  gazing  upon  the  party  with 
much  curiosity.  As  the  men  had  heard  a  great 
deal  about  the  speed  of  this  animal,  a  general  de- 
sire was  expressed  to  test  the  relative  speed  of  the 
gray-hound  and  the  antelope,  as  an  opportunity 
now  presented.  Accordingly  the  dog  was  started, 
and  the  antelopes  suffered  him  to  get  within  fifty 
yards  of  them.  They  then  wheeled,  and  put  off 
and  the  space  between  them  and  the  dog  widened 
BO  fast,  that  the  latter  stopped  suddenly,  apparently 
abashed  and  disappointed,  and  returned  to  the 
company.  All  descriptions  of  this  beautiful  ani- 
mal represent  its  speed  as  not  only  very  great,  but 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  that  of  any  other  animal 
in  the  world.  Its  motions  are  very  graceful  and 
easy,  and  made  without  any  visible  effort.  It  runs 
^ery  level,  and  as  it  moves  over  the  plains,  it  seems 
to  fly  rather  than  run. 

The  company  encamped  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Kansas  river,  and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  it, 
on  the  border  of  a  prairie.  They  had  not  been 
there  long  before  they  saw  a  small  party  of  Kansas 
Indians,  passing  not  very  far  from  the  company. 
Some  of  the  men  approached  them,  making  signs 
of  friendship,  and  induced  them  to  come  to  the 
camp.  They  cast  very  inquisitive  looks  upon  the 
white  men,  and  at  first  seemed  rather  alarmed; 


t-OB    LOST    TRAPFBB8.  88 

but  the  kindness  of  the  party  towards  them  soon 
dispelled  their  fears.  By  the  aid  of  thu  Mandan 
chief,  who  partially  understood  their  language,  and 
acted  as  a  kind  of  interpreter,  Captain  Williamf 
learned  that  they  belonged  to  the  Kansas  nation, 
and  had  been  out  on  a  hunt  to  procure  buffalo 
meat.  They  represented  one  of  their  villages  a> 
being  about  six  miles  down  the  Kansas  river 
With  a  view  of  securing  their  friendship,  Captait 
Williams  gave  them  several  little  presents,  witk 
which  they  were  greatly  pleased.  In  return,  they 
gave  Captain  Williajns  some  buffalo  meat,  upon 
which  his  men  feasted  very  heartily  that  night. 
Big  White,  acting  in  behalf  of  the  company,  sent 
*word  to  the  chiefs  that  the  party  would  visit  their 
village  the  next  day.  It  was  deemed  advisable  by 
the  men  to  take  every  pains  to  secure  the  horses, 
and  to  be  prepared  for  any  emergency. 

A  very  amusing  circumstance  occurred  during  the 
night.  One  of  the  men,  who  in  all  probability  had 
overloaded  his  stomach  with  buffalo  meat,  and 
whose  mind,  perhaps,  had  been  haunted,  in  day 
time,  by  frightful  visions  of  Indians,  suddenly  started 
up,  shouting  "  Indians,  Indians,  Indians  ;  yonder 
they  are — shoot,  shoot ;"  at  the  same  time  running 
back  and  forth,  and  making  the  most  violent  ges- 
tures. In  a  moment  all  were  wide  awake,  and  in 
another  moment,  all  were  in  possession  of  their 
arms.  The  guard  rushed  in  to  see  what  was 
wrong.  The  very  dogs  partook  of  the  excitement 
and  barked  fiercely.  The  frantic  vociferations  of 
the  frightened  man  continued — '<  Indians,  Indiani^ 


80  TBI    LOST   TIlFPftBfl. 

Indiana.'*  ''And  wtiere  are  they?'  was  asked  every 
where.  It  was,  however,  soon  discovered  that  the 
fellow  was  asleep  and  dreaming ;  and  a  camp-ket- 
tle full  of  wate'*  was  thrown  into  his  face,  which 
brought  him  to  his  right  mind.  It  was  sometime 
before  quietude  and  sleep  resumed  their  reign  in  the 
camp.  The  next  morning  the  frightened  dreamer 
and  his  dream  was  quite  a  laughing  stock  and 
matter  of  much  amusement.  As  he  was  compelled 
to  tell  his  dream,  he  said  that  he  thought,  the  com- 
pany had  come  in  contact  with  a  band  of  hostile 
Indians,  with  whom  they  were  about  to  have  a 
difficulty,  but  his  unpleasant  dream  w£ls  interrupted 
by  the  cold  water,  that  was  thrown  into  his  face. 

Ailer  breakfast,  the  principal  chiefs  and  several 
of  the  warriors  of  the  Kansas  came  to  the 
camp  on  horseback.  Captain  Williams  received 
them  with  very  marked  respect  and  kindness.  The 
pipe  of  peace  was  parsed  round.  The  object  of 
the  expedition  was  explained,  and  several  little 
articles  were  given  to  them  by  the  captain.  As 
they  had  heard  of  Big  White  going  down  with 
Lems  and  Clarke,  they  very  much  admired  the  con- 
duct of  the  whites  in  being  thus  true  to  their  prom- 
ises by  taking  the  Mandan  brave  back  to  his  people. 
This  circumstance  induced  them  to  repose  great 
confidence  in  the  party,  and  to  place  the  most  im- 
pUcit  faith  in  all  their  statements.  The  party  agreed 
to  accompany  the  Kansas  to  their  village,  as  the 
men  were  generally  anxious  to  join  them  in  a  buf- 
falo hxmt.  As  they  went  to  their  village  the  Kan- 
•as  asked  Big  White  a  thousand  questions  about 


rBB    LOST    TKAPriRS.  81 

the  coantry  he  had  recent!)  visited,  and  seemed 
greatly  interested  with  his  answers.  They  gath- 
ered around  him  and  received  the  information  they 
sought  for  with  a  great  deal  of  avidity.  Capt.  Wil- 
liams expressed  a  desire  to  salute  the  village  with 
a  round  or  two  from  their  rifles.  As  the  Kansas 
had  a  few  fire  arms,  they  expressed  a  wish  to  re- 
turn the  salutes,  but  they  had  nothing  to  make  their 
arms  ialkyhy  this  meaning  they  had  no  ammunition. 
Capt.  Williams  therefore  gave  them  some  powder, 
with  which  one  of  their  warriors  hurried  oflf  to  the 
village  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements.  When 
the  party  came  in  view  of  the  village,  all  the  women 
and  children  were  out  of  their  wigwams  and  looked 
wild  and  much  affrighted.  Their  men  had  ad- 
vanced a  little,  out  from  the  village,  and  from  their 
few  fire  arms  answered  to  the  salutes  of  Captain 
Williams'  men.  When  this  ceremony  was  over, 
by  which  the  chiefs  and  warriors  seemed  to  feel 
themselves  much  honored,  the  party,  including 
Big  White,  his  wife  and  son,  were  conducted  to 
lodges  fitted  up  expressly  for  their  reception.  The 
pipe,  according  to  a  uniform  practice  among  the 
tribes  in  the  far  west,  was  passed  around.  Captain 
Williams  renewed  his  efforts  to  secure  their  good 
will  by  distributing  among  them  a  few  of  such  ar- 
ticles as  were  most  likely  to  please.  The  kind 
feelings  of  the  Kansas  were  manifested  by  serving 
the  company  with  the  best  they  had  and  in  great 
profusion;  such  as  the  meat  of  buffalo,  drnj  and  the 
Mitelope,  beside  several  kinds  of  roots.  Big  White 
made  a  speech,  in  which  he  alluded  to  the  kindness 


12  TBB    LOST    TKAPPKBt. 

with  which  he  was  received  by  his  white  brothert^ 
and  their  great  riche?  and  number  and  strength. 
He  advised  them  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly  re- 
lations with  his  white  brothers  and  their  father  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  as  they  would  fur- 
nish his  poor  red  brothers  with  every  thing  they 
wanted  ;  such  as  knives,  guns,  powder,  lead,  blan- 
kets, whisky.  He  advised  them  to  go  and  see  their 
white  brothers.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  night  was 
spent  by  the  Kansas  in  putting  questions  to  the 
Mandans,  particularly  the  Chief,  about  his  trip  to 
the  land  of  the  pale  faces. 

Captain  Williams  and  his  party  resolved  to  spend 
two  or  three  days  with  this  tribe,  to  take  a  buffalo 
hunt,  and  sirrangementswere  made  w^th  the  Kansas 
to  take  the  hunt  the  next  day.  The  plains  were 
said  to  be  darkened  with  thousands  and  thousands 
of  buffalo,  not  more  than  twenty  miles  from  theif 
village.  They  had  not  been  frightened,  and  were  in 
all  probability,  in  the  same  neighborhood  yet.  Ac- 
cordingly early  the  next  morning,  ten  Kansas  hun- 
ters on  horseback,  with  spears  and  bows  and  ar- 
rows, with  the  same  number  of  Captain  Williams' 
men,  set  out  for  the  buffalo  ground.  The  Indians 
were  not  only  good  hunters,  but  very  superior  horse 
men.  Their  horses  too  were  familiarized  to  buffalo- 
Imnts  and  buffalo  baits,  and  well  trained  in  all  those 
dexterous  movements  to  be  practised  in  a  buffalo 
battle. 

Not  so  with  Captain  Williams'  men.  Most  of 
them  had  never  seen  a  buffalo,  and  their  horses 
were  as  inexperienced  as  their  riders ;  and  horses 


TBI    LOST    TBAPriBt,  H 

are  generally  veiy  mnch  frightened  the  firet  time 
they  are  rode  into  a  hunt  of  this  kind.  And  then 
again,  they  had  to  use  rifles,  which  are  a  kind  of 
arms,  too  unwieldy  and  ponderous  for  such  bu- 
einess.  Inexperienced  men,  too,  are  very  apt  to 
become  too  much  excited  and  run  themselves  into 
dangers  from  which  it  is  difficult  if  not  impossible 
to  extricate  themselves.  Untried  men,  therefore, 
upon  untried  horses,  with  unhandy  arms  and  greatly 
excited  in  the  bargain,  are  very  apt  to  fail  in  their 
first  attempts  to  kill  buffalo ;  if  they  do  not  share  a 
worse  fate  than  simply  a  failure.  For  it  often  hap- 
pens that  horse  and  horseman  are  killed. 

After  sweeping  over  the  prairie  for  twelve  miles 
the  hunting  party  came  to  a  halt,  to  hold  a  confer- 
ence about  their  ftiture  movements.  They  believed 
they  were  in  the  vicinity  of  the  buffalo.  Two  of 
the  Kansas  hunters  were  sent  ahead  to  reconnoitre 
the  plains,  and  report  by  signs  when  they  saw  the 
buffalo.  They  set  off  at  a  brisk  hand-gallop  upon 
th^ir  ponies,  whilst  the  company  moved  along  more 
at  their  leisure.  In  less  than  an  hour,  the  two 
Kans£is  were  seen  on  an  eminence,  making  signs 
that  the  buffalo  were  in  view.  The  party  rushed 
up  and  they  saw  the  buffalo  within  a  mile  in  thou- 
eands,  all  quiet  and  feeding  on  the  plains.  The 
men  dismounted  and  girthed  their  saddles  more 
securely,  and  adjusting  their  arms  for  the  attack, 
sprung  again  into  their  saddles,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  were  in  the  outskirts  of  the  multitudinous 
herd.  Each  man  selected  his  object  and  dashed 
after  it.     The  Indians  picked  out  the  males,  as  they 


84  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

were  fatter  than  the  cows,  which,  at  that  season, 
had  their  calves.  In  a  moment  the  innumerable 
multitude  were  in  motion,  frightened  by  the  horri- 
ble yelling  of  the  Kansas  Indians,  and  men  and 
horses  and  buffalo  were  seen  in  every  direction. 
The  very  plains  seemed  to  tremble,  and  the  rumbling 
sound  cheated  by  the  running  of  the  buffalo  resem 
bled  distant  thunder,  and  could  be  heard  for  many 
miles.  The  Indians  seemed  to  be  perfectly  at  home 
when  mounted  on  horseback  and  dashing  among 
the  buffalo,  shooting  their  sharp- pointed  arrows, 
and  launching  their  spears.  Their  horses  too 
seemed  to  understand  the  business.  They  would 
advance  close  up  to  the  buffalo,  and  when  they 
heard  the  twang  of  the  bov^r,  that  sped  the  arrow, 
they  would  wheel  and  bound  off.  When  they  per- 
ceived that  they  had  shot  an  arrow  and  launched  a 
spear  in  a  fatal  place,  the  Kansas  would  abandon 
the  bleeding  victim  to  die,  and  dash  ailer  another. 
In  this  way  they  continued  for  an  hour,  when  men 
and  horses  were  overcome  by  labor  and  fatigue 
Some  ten  or  twelve'  julls  lay  bleeding  on  the  plains 
some  dead  and  othr  s  badly  wounded.  Captain  Wil- 
liams' men,  not  buing  able  to  manage  their  rifles 
and  horses,  failed  to  accomplish  anything.  Indeed, 
one  of  their  horses  took  fright  and  ran  away,  a  mile 
or  two  from  the  scene  of  action,  before  the  rider 
was  able  to  stop  him.  Another  hurled  his  ridei 
with  violence  from  his  saddle,  upon  the  ground.  A 
third  one  nished  upon  an  infuriated  bull,  that  one 
61  the  Kansas  had  wounded,  and  had  his  entrails 
torn  oat  by  his  horns,  and  was  lefl  dead  on  the 


THE    L0&*     TRAPPERS.  85 

ground,  his  chagrined  and  deeply  mortified  ridei 
being  left  to  foot  it  back  to  the  camp.     The  chase 
being  ended,  the  party  went  to  work  to  dispatch 
those  that  were  wounded,  which,  by  the  way,  was 
accompanied  with  no  little  danger.     Some  of  the 
bulls  were  very  furious,  and  made  desperate  bounds 
at  the  horses,  and  even  pursued   them.     Captain 
Williams  observed,  that  the   Indians   exercised  a 
great  deal   of  coolness  and  judgment.     They  re- 
served their  arrows,  until  they  were  able  to  make 
a  sure  and  effective  shot.     They  always  aimed  to 
launch  their  spears  and  arrows  behind  the  ribs,  so 
as  to  range  forward  and  in  this  way  penetrate  the 
vitals.     A  single  arrow,  in  several  instances,  would 
dispatch  a  large  bull,  and  when  the  carcasses  were 
opened  by  the  Indians  to  get  their  arrows,  they 
were  found  to  have  passed  from  the  flank,  obliquely 
through  the  body,  and  lodged  against  son^e  of  the 
bones  on  the  opposite  side.     It  is  very  common,  for 
an  arrow  to  pass  completely  through  the  body,  when 
it  does  not  strike  a  bone.     The  points  of  their  ar- 
rows and  spears  are  made  of  iron  and  steel,  pro- 
cured of  the  whites,  and  made  ver}^  sharp.     Their 
bows    are    sometimes    made    of  wood,  but  their 
strongest  and   most  efficient  weapons  of  this  kind 
are  made  of  pieces  of  bone  and  horn  spliced  and  glued 
together,  and  are  strung   with  sinews  of  buffalo. 
Their  spears  are  generally  eight  or  ten  feet  long, 
including  the  handle,  which  is  made  of  light  elastic 
wood,  and  wrapped  with  the  sinews  of  buffalo. 
Having  taken  as  much  of  the  choicest  portions  of 
^be  meat  as  they  could  carry,  the  party  turned  their 


30  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS. 

faces  toward  the  Kansas  village.  But  as  it  wai 
late  in  the  afternoon  before  they  set  off,  they  raised 
a  fire,  axound  which  they  prepared  their  hunter's  re- 
past, the  horses  at  the  same  time  being  permitted 
to  refresh  themselves  upon  the  grass.  They  trav- 
eled about  eight  miles  from  their  grand  scamper, 
that  evening,  and  then  stopped,  until  the  next 
morning,  when  very  early  they  reached  the  Kansas 
village,  richly  ladened  with  fat  buffalo  meat,  it  waa 
true,  but  miniLs  a  very  fine  horse. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  BiiACK  bear  is  killed.  A  trade,  a  horse  for  a  dog — A  panorama — TIm 
party  overtaken  by  the  dog  traded  to  the  chief— They  meet  a  amail 
party  of  Kansas,  by  whom  the  renegado  dog  is  returned  to  his  ownei 
— Jlunning  of  buffalo,  and  danger  to  be  apprehended— The  plan  to 
avoid  it — Vast  number  of  buffalo.  A  man  lost — His  critical  situation 
—He  is  found  the  next  day — His  report  of  his  night  in  the  prairie. 

Whilst  among  the  Kansas,  Capttdn  Williams' 
men  weP3  informed  that  a  large  black  be2ir  had 
been  frequently  seen  on  an  island  in  the  river,  about 
a  mile  from  the  village,  and  that  several  efforts 
made  by  the  Indians  to  take  him  had  been  unsuc- 
cessful. There  was  a  dense  thicket  of  plum  bushes 
and  hazel,  to  which  he  always  betook  himself  when 
assailed,  and  into  which  his  pursuers  thought  it 
unsafe  to  follow  him.  As  the  dogs  belonging  to 
the  expedition  were  trained  to  hunt  such  yame, 
they  were  taken  across  the  river  to  the  island  by 
some  of  the  men.  A  number  of  the  Kansas  went 
with  them  to  vdtness  the  performance  of  the  dogs, 
which  they  were  disposed  very  much  to  admire  for 
their  superior  size.  Within  a  very  short  time,  the 
bear  was  started  from  his  hitherto  safe  retreat,  and 
being  pursued  closely,  and  now  and  then  nipped 
by  the  dogs,  took  a  tree.  One  of  the  men  shot  him. 
He  was  uncommonly  large  and  very  fat,  and  fur- 
aished  a  fine  repast  for  the  company  that  night- 

tr 


88  THE     LOST    TRAPPEKS. 

The  Kansas  were  delighted  with  the  courage  of 
the  dogs,  and  the  principal  chief  of  the  village  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  purchase  one  of  them.  He  gave 
Captain  Williams  to  understand  that  he  would  give 
him  a  fine  young  horse  in  exchange  for  a  large 
mastiff,  for  which  he  took  a  particular  fancy.  Ai 
the  party  had  began  to  consider  the  canine  part  of 
the  expedition  as  not  only  useless,  but  calculated 
by  their  barking  to  betray  them  into  the  hands  of 
lurking  pzirties  of  Indians,  a  bargain  was  soon 
struck.  The  chief  took  his  dog,  and  Captain  Wil- 
liams his  horse,  both  alike  well  pleased  with  their 
trade.  The  village  generally  seemed  delighted 
with  the  new  acquisition  of  an  animal  so  much 
superior,  in  every  way,  to  the  small,  half-starved, 
half-wolf,  roguish-looking  breed,  which  they  had 
in  their  village.  Indian  dogs  seem  to  be  wolves  of 
the  smaller  kind  domesticated,  and  are  of  no  value 
except  to  those  tribes  who  have  no  horses.  By  such 
poor  wretches  they  are  frequently  used  to  convey 
baggage. 

Having  passed  three  days  vdth  this  tribe,  Captsdn 
Williams  resumed  his  journey  with  his  men, 
greeted  with  the  best  wishes  of  these  unsophistica- 
ted children  of  nature,  for  their  future  good  luck. 
He  was  advised  by  Big  White  to  bear  more  to  the 
west,  to  avoid  the  broken,  hilly  country  near  the 
Missouri,  and  to  avoid  the  difficulty  sometimes  ex- 
perienced in  crossing  its  tributaries  near  their 
mouths.  The  hostile  parties  of  Indians,  too,  with 
whom  they  might  fall  in,  would  not  be  very  large, 
•^d  of  course  less  formidable,  as  their  villages  gen* 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  39 

erall)  were  near  the  Missouri.  Captain  Williams 
therefore,  determined  to  cross  the  Platte,  a  short 
distance  below  the  junction  of  the  north  and  south 
forks,  and  pursued  his  course  accordingly.  The 
company  traveled  over  a  dry,  elevated,  rich  prairie 
country.  Buffalo  were  seen  in  great  numbers. 
Elk,  deer,  and  the  antelope  were  frequently  to  be 
«een,  scampering  and  curveting,  and  sometimes 
gazing  with  wild  curiosity  upon  the  company  as 
they  passed  along.  Frequent  signs  of  Indians  were 
seen  through  the  day,  but  the  fears  of  the  party 
were  not  excited,  as  they  were  made,  in  all  proba- 
bility, by  the  hunting  parties  of  the  Kansas. 

An  hour  before  sunset  the  company  came  to  a 
halt  to  refresh  themselves  and  horses.  This  eve- 
ning the  dog  that  had  been  exchanged  for  a  horse 
overtook  them,  and  seemed  much  pleased  with  re- 
j lining  his  old  acquaintances.  There  was  a  piece 
of  raw  hide  attached  to  his  neck,  by  which  he  had 
Deen  tied,  and  which  he  had  cut,  and  in  this  way 
made  his  escape.  How  he  passed,  without  being 
attacked  by  wolves  and  torn  to  pieces,  was  a  mat 
ter  of  surprise  to  the  party,  who  had  observed  tha^ 
wolves  were  very  numerous.  At  dark  a  light  was 
observed  across  the  prairie,  which  was  most  likely 
that  of  an  Indian  camp.  The  company  put  out 
their  fires,  mounted  their  horses,  and  traveled  eight 
or  ten  miles  further,  and  then  unpacked  and  fet- 
tered their  horses,  and  turned  them  out  to  graze, 
whilst  they  wrapped  themselves  up  in  their  blan- 
kets and  laid  themselves  down  to  sleep.  The  light 
of  the  ensuing  morning  revealed  to  the  men  the 


40  TBB    LOST    T1APPIB8. 

most  extensive  and  beaatiibl  prospect  they  had 
ever  seen.  They  found  themselves  on  the  moat 
elevated  point  in  a  grand  prairie,  that  spread  al- 
most immeasurably  in  every  direction.  In  every 
way  they  looked,  a  beautiful  sea  green  surface 
ipread  onward  and  onward,  until  it  united  with 
the  utmost  verge  of  the  sky,  bearing  a  striking  re- 
semblance to  the  undulating  surface  of  the  ocean 
The  prairie  was  dotted,  here  and  there,  with  bands 
of  the  different  kinds  of  animals,  which  at  that 
early  day,  were  very  numerous  in  the  far  west. 
Far  away,  in  the  distance,  was  to  be  seen  a  herd  of 
buffalo,  some  quietly  grazing,  and  others  reposing 
upon  the  grass.  Near  at  hand  was  a  band  of  hun- 
gry and  roguish-looking  wolves,  curiously  eyeing 
the  company,  and  patiently  licking  their  lips  in  an- 
ticipation of  the  sweet  morsels  and  bones  they  ex- 
pected to  pick  up  about  the  camp  when  the  party 
were  gone.  In  this  beautiful  exciting  panorama  of 
nature  were  the  elk  and  the  antelope,  the  one 
crowned  with  his  stately,  ^^ide-spreading  antlers ; 
the  other  sweeping  and  cursxting  aroimd  with  so 
much  grace  and  ease,  as  scarcely  to  appear  to 
make  a  single  muscular  effort.  And  then,  hard-by, 
was  a  little  village  of  prairie  dogs,  the  industrious 
inhabitants  of  which  were  up  at  the  first  break  ol 
day,  yelping,  and  skipping  about,  dzirting  into  their 
holes,  and  as  quickly  coming  out  again,  and  in  this 
way  expressing  the  surprise  and  curiosity  created  by 
the  presence  of  these  intruders  upon  their  territory 
We  promise  the  reader,  in  another  part  of  this  vol- 
nsDidf  a  fuller  account  of  this  carious,  antic  little  in- 


THB    LOST    TBAPPBK8  41 

nabitant  of  the  prairie.  Although  the  company  wa« 
delighted  with  the  scene,  they  did  not  think  it  safe 
policy  to  occupy  so  conspicuous  a  place  very  long, 
as  they  might  be  espied  many  miles  in  every  direc- 
tion, by  any  roving  bands  of  Indians  that  might  be 
in  that  region.  Without,  therefore  enjoying  their 
usual  morning  repast,  they  hurried  off,  and  traveled 
until  noon,  when  they  came  to  timber,  in  which 
they  passed  several  hours  of  repose  both  to  them- 
■elves  and  their  horses.  In  the  afternoon  of  this 
day  they  met  a  small  hunting  party  of  Kansas,  be- 
longing to  the  village  the  party  had  visited,  and 
held  a  short  parley  with  them,  in  which  they  were 
informed  of  the  trade  made  by  Captain  Williams 
and  the  chief  of  the  Kansas  village.  They  seemed 
to  place  confidence  in  the  statements  of  Captain 
Williams,  confirmed  as  they  were  by  the  testimony 
of  the  Mandans,  and  took  possession  of  the  rene- 
gado  dog  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  him  back  to 
his  legitimate  owner 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  day,  a  rumbling,  rolling 
noise  was  heard  by  the  company,  in  the  south,  re- 
sembling distant  thunder.  Big  White,  who  was  an 
experienced  buffalo  hunter,  said  that  it  was  made 
by  the  running  of  a  very  large  herd  of  frightened 
buffalo,  and,  as  the  sound  became  more  and  more 
distinct,  he  stated  that  they,  in  all  probability,  were 
coming  toward  the  company,  a  circumstance  that 
would  be  attended  with  danger,  if  they  were  aa 
numerous  as  the  noise  indicated. 

For  one  hour  the  thundering  continued,  becom- 
ing more  and  more  audible,  until  the  dark  rolling 
4 


42  TBB    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

mass  of  living,  mo\'ing  animals  was  seen  on  the 
verge  of  the  horizon,  coming  directly  towards  the 
company,  and  apparently  covering  the  whole  earth. 
Under  such  circumstances  there  is  no  retreating, 
and  a  party  of  men  in  such  a  situation,  are  reduced 
to  the  desperate  expedient  of  standing  their  ground 
and  facing  the  danger.  A  part  of  the  men  secured 
the  horses  by  tethering  them,  and  at  the  same  time 
lid  them  of  their  burdens  ;  whilst  the  others  rushed 
forward  with  their  arms  to  meet  the  herd  two  or 
three  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  the  horses.  The 
thing  to  be  efiected,  and  the  only  thing  that  can  be 
effected,  to  prevent  being  overrun  and  tiampled  to 
death,  is  to  divide  the  crowd.  This,  the  company 
was  able  to  accomplish  by  firing  their  guns  as  fast 
as  they  could  load,  and  shouting  and  waving  their 
hats.  As  the  vast  throng  came  up,  they  divided  to 
the  right  and  the  left,  leaving  a  passage  about  forty 
or  fifty  yards  wide,  which  was  occupied  by  the  men 
and  horses.  But  the  shouting,  and  shooting,  and 
waving  of  hats  had  to  be  kept  up  whilst  the  denser 
part  of  the  throng  was  pgissing  by,  which  consuii.ed 
at  least  one  entire  hour.  Big  White  and  his  eon, 
who  understood  the  disposition  of  the  buffalo  bet- 
ter than  any  present,  aided  in  the  matter,  and  ren- 
dered most  efficient  help  by  their  tremendous  yells, 
which  seemed  to  frighten  the  buiialo  more  than 
any  thing  else.  The  gray-hound  dog  belonging  to 
the  company  became  frightened  and  confused,  and 
darted  into  the  crowd,  and  was  trampled  to  death. 
To  some,  these  statements  about  the  vast  num- 
ber of  buffalo  may  seem  to  invite  incredulity,  and 


THE    LOST    TBAFPEB8.  43 

may  be  classed  among  those  extravagant  stories 
that  are  frequently  associated  with  the  excitement 
belonging  to  frontier  adventure.  They  may  be 
thought  to  be  true,  only,  in  part ;  but  it  should  he 
remembered  that  they  are  confirmed  by  the  ob- 
servation of  all  men  who  have  traveled  through  a 
buffalo  country,  some  of  whom  are  certainly  enti- 
tled to  credit  for  what  they  say.  The  same  state- 
ments are  made  about  their  vast  number  even  at 
the  present  day ;  and  if  they  be  correct  now,  how 
much  more  true  were  they  forty  years  ago.  That 
the  number  of  buffalo  has  been  diminished  very 
fast  is  certainly  true,  and  in  another  part  of  this 
book  there  will  be  found  some  interesting  data  to 
this  effect,  which  we  gathered  from  the  expeditions 
of  Captain  Fremont. 

When  buffalo  are  seen  frightened  and  running, 
it  is  regarded  as  evident  that  they  are  pursued  by 
Indians.  It  was  not  the  case,  however,  in  the  pre- 
sent instance.  As  the  company  expected  the  buf- 
falo would  be  followed  by  Indians,  they  did  not 
once  think  of  securing  a  supply  of  meat,  but  suf- 
fered the  opportunity  to  pass  unimpruved.  Captain 
Williams  thought  it  wisdom  to  be  on  the  alert,  as 
this  was  a  season  for  hunting,  and  the  prairies 
were  doubtless  infested  by  hunting  parties,  by 
whom  he  was  liable  to  be  surprised.  They  there- 
fore traveled  hard  and  late  before  they  came  to  a 
halt.  Three  men  lefl  the  main  body  of  the  company 
to  kill  some  game,  as  provisions  were  somewhat 
scarce.  They  were  to  join  the  company  at  a  point 
of  timber,  that  was  visible  at  that  time,  and  seeme4 


44  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

to  be  about  six  miles  off;  but  the  distance  proved 
much  greater.  The  men  were  strictly  ordered  by 
Captain  Williams  not  to  separate  from  each  other, 
as  they  were  now  on  very  dangerous  ground,  and 
their  safety  required  the  strictest  vigilance.  The 
party  reached  the  point  of  timber  about  sunset, 
and  supped  upon  a  very  scanty  supply  of  meat 
About  dark  two  of  the  hunters  came  in,  bringing  a 
fine  deer.  They  reported  that  the  other  hunter 
had  left  them  to  get  a  shot  at  some  elk  that 
were  about  the  half  of  a  mile  off,  whilst  they 
wound  around  and  about  to  kill  their  deer.  In  thia 
way  they  lost  sight  of  him.  They  further  stated 
that  they  had  seen  three  men  on  horses,  going  in 
the  direction  the  absent  man  had  gone.  This  cir- 
cimistance  awakened  the  most  painful  apprehen- 
sions in  the  camp  as  to  his  safety.  It  was  now  too 
late  to  go  in  search  of  him,  and,  if  alive,  he  was 
doomed  to  spend  the  night  in  the  prairie,  entirely 
unprotected.  Captain  Williams  thought,  at  one 
time,  of  kindling  up  a  large  fire,  hoping  that  the 
lost  man  might  see  the  light  and  find  his  way  to 
the  camp ;  but  then  this  plan  might  betray  the 
whole  company  into  the  hands  of  hostile  Indians, 
and  on  that  account  it  was  abandoned.  The  fires 
were  extinguished,  and  the  guard  required  to  be 
very  cautious.  If  the  missing  man  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  these  savages  would 
most  likely  meditate  an  attack  upon  the  main  body. 
The  night  passed  without  anything  to  disturb  their 
slumbers,  except  their  concern  for  the  lost  hunter, 
and  at  the  earliest  dawn  of  day,  ten  men,  including 


THE    LOST    TRAPPBKS.  45 

the  two  that  had  acted  as  hunters  the  evening  be- 
fore, set  off  to  look  up  the  one  that  was  absent. 
They  went  to  the  place  where  Carson,  (frr  that 
was  his  name)  was  represented  as  being  last  seen ; 
but  no  signs  of  his  being  there  could  be  found 
The  surface  of  the  ground  was  such  that  if  he  had 
been  there,  he  would  Jiave  left  some  impression 
that  would  still  be  perceptible.     No  tracks  made 
by  his  horse  could  be  found.     It  could  not  be  the 
place  where  he  had  been  last  seen,  for  he  could  not 
have  been  there  at  all.     The  men  frequently  fired 
their  guns,  and  rode  about  and  shouted  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  and  waved  their  hats,  but  no  an- 
swer was  received,  and  nothing  like  a  man  could 
be  seen  any  where  on  the  wide  expanse  of  prairie 
that  spread  around.     As  they  swept  around,  how 
ever,  they  saw  a  horse  standing  in  a  patch  of  brush 
When  they  approached  him,  he  recognized  the  com 
pany  and  neighed.      This  brought  the  men  to  ^ 
halt,  to  ascertain  what  it  meant.     They  called  and 
shouted,  but  no  one  answered.      This  tended  to 
confirm  their  unfavorable  apprehension  as  to  the 
fate  of  Carson.     He  was,  in  all  probability,  killed, 
and  his  horse  and  equipage  were  in  the  possession 
of  savages,  at  that  time  concealed  in  the  thicket 
just  before  them.     But  they  were  determined  to 
know  for  themselves,  and  approached  the  horse 
very  cautiously,  v^dth  their  fingers  upon  the  trig- 
gers of  their  guns,  ready  to  fire,  and  expecting, 
every  moment,  po  be  fired  upon.    When  they  were 
sufficiently  near,  they  discovered   the  horse  waa 
carefully  tied,  and  a  short  distance  off  lay  Caraoo 


46  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

under  a  tree,  with  his  head  upon  his  saddle.  The 
men  thought  he  was  dead,  but  they  soon  found  out 
that  he  was  in  a  sound  sleep,  and  indeed  enjoying 
a  very  pleasant  dream,  at  the  same  time.  When 
they  aroused  him,  he  at  fii'st  seemed  bewildered 
and  wild.  He  gave  a  doleful  account  of  himself, 
as  he  passed  the  night  lost  and  alone.  In  his 
eagerness  to  shoot  an  elk,  he  lost  his  course,  and 
wandered  about  long  after  uark,  perhaps  till  mid- 
night, hoping  that  he  might  see  the  light  of  the  en- 
campment. Failing  in  this,  fatigued  and  hungry, 
he  laid  himself  down  to  sleep  if  he  could,  but  his 
mind  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  dangers  by 
which  he  was  beset,  that  he  lay  wide  awake  until 
about  the  break  of  day,  which  was  the  cause  of  his 
being  asleep  when  they  found  him.  He  saw  the 
Indians  seen  by  the  other  men.  They  passed  with- 
in an  hundred  yards  from  him,  but  did  not  see  him, 
as  he  was  hid,  as  he  thought,  in  the  same  thicket 
in  which  he  spent  the  night.  As  his  horse  was 
very  impatient  to  join  the  company  again,  and  fre- 
quently neighed,  Carson  was  very  much  afraid  that 
he  would  betray  him  into  the  hands  of  those  three 
Indians  that  passed  so  near.  To  prevent  this  he 
blindfolded  him  by  binding  his  handkerchief  over 
his  eyes,  an  expedient  that  had  the  effect  of  en- 
tirely subduing  his  restiveness  and  ill-timed  impa- 
tience. He  thought  the  Indians  were  traveling  in 
a  southern  direction,  and  their  horses  seemed  veiy 
much  fatigued.  They  were  well  armed  with  bows 
and  arrows,  and  long  spears,  and  Cgirson  thought 
each  one  had  several  scalps  dangling  to  their  bridle 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  47 

bits.  They  were  evidently  returning  home,  per- 
haps from  some  adventurous  tramp,  in  which  they 
may  have  sought  revenge  on  some  rival  party. 

From  the  description  of  these  Indians,  Big  White 
thought  they  were  of  the  Kite  Indians,  who  were 
savage  in  the  extreme,  and  would  have  shown  no 
mercy  whatever  to  Carson,  if  they  had  seen  him. 
He  spoke  of  them  as  being  very  much  reduced  in 
number,  by  their  constant  wars  with  other  tribes, 
and  yet  perfectly  indomitable.  They  were  great 
horsemen,  and  very  swift.  Captain  Williams  em- 
braced the  opportunity,  which  this  occurence  fur- 
nished, to  urge  upon  his  men  the  most  scrupulous 
observance  of  the  regulations  belonging  to  the  com- 
pany, as  very  necessary  for  their  safety. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

jn^mi  aconto— Vigilance  of  the  par^ — They  reach  the  Platte— One  of 

the  Daily  becomes  sick — The  way  to  kill  antelope — Pawnees  come  M 
the  camp— They  feel  very  much  for  the  sick  man — The  vapor  bath 
care  for  every  thing — The  sick  man  dies — Indian  honors  bestowed 
upon  their  dead — A  band  of  wolves  on  the  grave  of  Hamilton,  digging 
op  his  body — This  is  a  common  thing. 

The  lost  man  being  found,  the  party  resumed 
their  journey,  exercising  renewed  caution,  as  they 
saw  abundant  signs  of  Indians.  The  tracks  of 
their  horses  and  their  vacated  camps  were  fre- 
quently observed  ;  whilst  the  game  along  the  route 
seemed  alarmed  and  easily  frightened.  About  noon 
some  Indian  scouts  were  seen  by  the  aid  of  a  glass 
on  an  eminence,  a  long  way  off,  evidently  recon- 
noitering  the  movements  of  the  company.  Toward 
the  latter  part  of  the  day,  the  same  scouts  were 
again  following  along  at  a  distance,  on  their  trail. 
They  were  supposed  to  be  spies  belonging  to  some 
hostile  tribe,  perhaps  large,  in  that  neighborhood, 
who  intended,  that  night,  if  an  opportunity  offered, 
to  steal  their  horses,  and  perhaps  attack  the  com- 
pany. Late  in  the  afternoon,  they  came  to  a  small 
Btrean  of  ver}'^  pure  water,  where  they  determined 
to  take  a  little  refreshment,  and  to  permit  their 
horses  to  fill  themselves  with  grass.  The  Mandan 
Chief  told  Captain  Williams  that  the  party  thai 
48 


THE    LOST    TRAPriBI.  49 

were  dogging  them,  and  no  doubt  entertained  bad 
designs  towards  his  company,  would  not  attempt  to 
execute  those  designs  until  a  late  hour  in  the  nights 
perhaps  a  short  time  before  day,  when  they  would 
be  asleep;  and  that  it  was  good  policy  on  his  part, 
to  Act  as  though  he  suspected  nothing  of  the  kind, 
and  to  be  perfectly  at  his  ease.  At  dark,  they  re- 
newed their  fires  to  deceive  the  lurking  foe,  and 
then  quietly  and  silently  put  off.  Turning  their 
course  rather  to  the  north,  they  traveled  about  ten 
miles,  and  then  stretched  their  weary  limbs  on  the 
green  grass,  until  the  light  of  another  morning. 

Immediately  after  day-brejik  the  company  were 
on  their  way,  exulting  in  their  present  security  and 
in  having  out-witted  as  well  as  out-traveled  the 
enemy;  nor  did  they  in  the  least  relax  their  speedy 
gait  until  noon,  at  which  time  they  reached  a  ra- 
vine, where  wood  and  water  were  abundant.  There 
they  remained  for  two  hours.  A  scout  or  out  sen- 
tinel was  stationed  6n  an  eminence  in  the  prairie 
to  scan  the  country  around,  and  report,  by  signs, 
any  and  every  thing,  that  looked  in  any  degree 
suspicious. 

We  pass  on  to  that  part  of  the  journal  which  de- 
tails the  events  ofthe  expedition,  when  they  arrived 
on  the  Platte.  They  reached  the  waters  of  this 
river  about  the  first  of  June.  One  of  the  men, 
whose  name  was  William  Hamilton,  had  taken  sick 
the  day  before,  and  not  being  able  to  travel,  the 
party  were  compelled  to  encamp.  He  had  a  very 
high  fever,  and  was  frequently  wild  and  flighty 
Captain  Williams  made  several  efforts  to  bleed  hin^ 


50  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

but  without  success.  He  also  exhibited  a  dose  of 
calomel,  which,  likewise,  was  not  accompanied 
with  any  salutary  effect.  Poor  fellow !  in  his  lucid 
moments,  he  frequently  expressed  an  earnest  wish 
to  see  once  more  his  native  home  and  his  friends  : 
but  he  had  bid  them  adieu  for  the  last  time,  and  it 
was  his  fate  to  end  his  days  in  a  land  of  Arabs. 

As  they  would,  in  all  probability,  be  compelled,  by 
the  situation  of  Hamilton,  to  remain  there,  perhaps 
for'  several  da3^s,  the  men  on  the  first  day  were  en- 
gaged in  constructing  a  sort  of  breast- work  for  the 
greater  safety  of  the  party.  Five  men,  the  next 
morning  swept  around  a  mile  or  two  from  the  camp, 
and  returned  ^^'ith  part  of  the  meat  of  a  fine  young 
buffalo,  and  the  carcass  of  an  antelope,  which  was 
the  first  that  had  been  killed  by  any  of  the  party. 
Its  meat  was  thought  to  be  very  fine,  and  much  like 
venison.  Indeed  the  antelope  exactly  resembles  the 
common  deer,  in  every  respect,  except  as  to  its 
horns,  which  differ  from  those  of  the  deer,  being 
straight,  slender,  erect  and  A^ithout  any  branches. 
The  man  who  killed  it,  said  that  it  would  not  per- 
mit him  to  approach  within  the  range  of  his  rifle  ; 
he  threw  himself  upon  the  ground  and  elevated  hia 
handkerchief  on  the  end  of  his  gun-stick,  and  as  i 
waved  in  the  wind  the  curiosity  of  the  animal 
seemed  to  gain  the  ascendancy  over  its  caution  and 
ehyness ;  and  it  wheeled  about  and  returned,  run- 
ning round  and  round,  drawing  still  nearer  every 
circuit  it  made,  until  it  actually  came  within  thirty 
eteps  of  him.  He  then  shot  it,  as  he  lay  in  a  hori- 
zontal position. 


THE     LOST    TRAPPEBS  M 

During  this  day,  a  party  of  Indians,  on  hor8e« 
back,  and  bearing  a  warlike  aspect,  made  their  ap- 
pearance near  the  camp,  and  gazed  with  much 
curiosity  upon  the  company.  Captain  Williams, 
accompanied  by  Big  White,  advanced  towards 
them,  making  signs  of  friendship.  With  some  lit- 
tle difficulty  they  were  brought  to  a  parley,  in 
which  he  learned  that  they  were  a  w£ir-party  of 
Pawnees,  who  had  been  out  in  pursuit  of  some 
Osages  who  had  stolen  some  of  their  horses.  They 
had  overtaken  and  killed  the  most  of  them.  They 
were  in  possession  of  a  number  of  scalps,  as  so 
many  trophies,  and  had  regained  the  stolen  horses. 
There  were  thirty  Pawnees,  well  armed  with  bowa 
and  arrows,  and  shields,  and  spears.  They  seemed 
very  friendly,  especially  when  they  learned  that  the 
object  of  the  expedition  was  to  take  the  Mandan 
chief  home  to  his  tribe.  They  had  received  pre- 
sents from  Lewis  and  Clark  the  year  before,  which 
laid  the  foundation  of  partiality  for  the  whites;  a 
feeling  which  Captain  Williams  strengthened  very 
much,  by  giving  them  tobacco,  and  several  other 
trifling  articles.  Having  been  conducted  to  the 
camp,  they  received  every  kindness  that  the  party 
could  bestow  upon  them.  They  seemed  to  fec^ 
very  much  for  Hamilton,  who  continued  very  iL 
and  were  greatly  surprised  to  witness  Captaii 
Williams'  effort  to  extract  blood ;  nor  was  it  pos 
Bible  to  make  them  understand  how  it  could  benefi 
the  sufferer.  They  brought  in  a  number  of  roots 
and  weeds,  which  they  eloquently  affirmed,  hy 
signs,  would  be  an  infallible  remedy.     They  also 


52  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

orged  sweating  and  bathing,  to  which  the  Indiana 
east  and  west  of  the  mountains  always  resort,  as  a 
remedy  not  only  for  fever,  but  almost  every  kind 
of  disease.  As  the  reader  may  not  understand 
their  modtLS  operandi  in  the  use  of  this  remedy,  it 
may  not  be  improper  to  describe  it.  A  vapor  bath, 
3r  sweating  house,  is  "  a  hollow  squEire,  of  six  or 
eight  feet  deep,  formed  against  the  river  bank,  by 
damming  up,  with  mud,  the  other  three  sides,  and 
covering  the  top  completely,  except  an  aperture 
about  two  feet  wide.  The  bather  descends  by  this 
hole,  taking  with  him  a  number  of  heated  stones 
and  jugs  of  water;  and  after  seating  himself, 
throws  the  water  on  the  stones,  till  the  steam  be- 
comes of  a  temperature  sufficiently  high  for  his  pur- 
pose. The  baths  of  the  Indians  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains  are  of  different  sizes,  the  most  common 
being  made  of  mud  and  sticks  like  an  oven ;  but 
the  mode  of  raising  the  steam  is  exactly  the  same. 
Among  those  nations,  when  a  man  bathes  for  plea- 
sure, he  is  generally  accompanied  by  one,  and 
sometimes  by  several  of  his  acquaintances.  In- 
deed it  is  so  essentially  a  social  amusement,  that 
to  decline  going  in  the  bath  when  invited  by  a 
friend,  is  one  of  the  highest  indignities  which  can 
be  offered.  The  Indians  on  the  frontier  generally 
tise  a  bath  that  \\'ill  acconmiodate  only  one  person, 
and  which  is  formed  of  wicker-work  of  vsdllows, 
about  four  feet  high,  arched  at  the  top  and  covered 
with  skins.  In  this  the  bather  sits  till,  by  means 
of  the  steam  from  the  heated  stones,  he  has  per- 
spired sufficiently.   These  baths  are  almost  univer- 


THE    LOST    TBAPP£RS.  53 

sally  in  the  neighborhood  of  running  water,  into 
which  the  bather  plunges  immediately  on  coming 
out ;  and  sometimes  he  returns  again  and  subject*" 
himself  to  a  second  perspiration.  The  bath  is  em- 
ployed for  pleasure,  as  well  as  health,  and  is  used 
indiscriminately  for  all  kinds  of  diseases."  It  is 
also  used  for  another  purpose.  When  an  Indian 
trapper  is  unsuccessful  in  trapping  for  beaver,  he 
enters  the  sweating  house,  where  he  remains  for 
some  time,  sweating  most  profusely.  In  this  con- 
dition, he  immediately  plunges  into  the  cold  stream, 
fancying  that,  by  this  means,  he  rids  himself  of 
some  peculiar  odor,  or  impurity  of  body,  that  kept 
the  keen-scented  beaver  from  his  traps.  Having 
passed  through  this  purification  and  cleansing,  he 
returns  to  his  work  with  renewed  confidence  and 
hopes  of  success. 

Two  of  the  men  went  with  the  Pawnee  warri- 
ors to  their  village,  which  was  about  fifteen  miles 
north-east.  They  took  with  them  some  presents 
for  their  chiefs,  as  they  had  learned  that  the  vari- 
ous tribes  were  very  great  beggars,  and  always  ex- 
pect the  white  men  to  confirm  their  professions 
of  friendship,  by  things  that  are  visible  as  well  as 
tangible.  The  latter  part  of  this  day  the  sick  man 
died;  a  melancholy  event  that  was  not  expected  so 
soon.  His  body  was  immediately  wrapped  in  a 
blanket  and  deposited  in  a  grave.  In  the  bark  of 
a  tree  standing  at  the  head  of  his  grave,  his  name 
was  cut  by  one  of  the  men  with  his  pocket  knife. 
His  death  cast  a  deep  gloom  over  the  camp,  as  he 
was  greatly  beloved  by  the  company,  and  esteemed 


54  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

and  admired  for  his  great  fortitude  and  prudence 
The  Mandan  chief,  who  sympathized  very  much 
with  the  party  in  their  great  loss  and  affliction,  ex- 
pected that  the  burial  of  a  white  brave  would  have 
been  accompanied  with  more  parade  and  ceremony, 
and  was  particularly  surprised,  that  he  was  not  fur- 
nished with  horses  and  arms  to  use  when  he  should 
reach  those  happy  hunting  grounds,  to  w^hich  the 
braves  are  conducted  after  death.  It  is  the  custom 
of  the  various  tribes  to  furnish  their  heroes  with 
horses,  that  are  slain  on  their  graves,  and  with  moc- 
casins and  arms  of  every  description,  to  be  used  in 
that  Elysium  to  which  they  pass  in  death.  On  the 
grave  of  a  very  distinguished  brave,  fifteen  or 
twenty  horses  are  sometiiues  sacrificed,  together 
with  a  corresponding  outfit  for  hunting  in  the 
other  world. 

Early  the  next  monii!i^  after  the  death  of  Ham- 
ilton mingled  feelin^i'  of  ;<adness  and  indignation 
•urere  created  in.  the  samp,  by  seeing  a  band  of 
ivolves  on  his  gsp-^e^  most  industriously  digging  out 
ihe  loose  tSLJtb  to  get  at  his  body.  The  men  sud- 
lenl^  flkTu  simultaneously  grasped  their  rifles  to 
.^W'SPge  the  indignity-  offered  to  the  dead,  by  a  gen- 
wH  fire  upon  the  pack;  but  Captain  Williams 
ihecked  them,  by  suggesting  that  the  report  of 
their  arms  might  be  heard  by  marauders,  and  bring 
them  into  a  difficulty.  They  therefore  quietly 
drove  them  away,  and  covered  the  grave  with  long 
heavy  pieces  of  timber  which  the  wolves  would  not 
be  able  to  remove. 

Captain  Williams  learned  firom  Big  White  that 


THEL0STTRAPPE&8.  59 

the  wolves  would  always  dig  up  the  dead,  if  not 
buried  so  as  to  prevent  it,  and  that  they  always 
most  greedily  devour  the  slain  on  the  field  of  bat 
tie,  if  left  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.    Their  scent 
is  so  very  acute,  they  can  smell  a  dead  body  thre.> 
or  four  feet  under  ground,  and  having  dug  it  up 
feed  upon  it  with  the  greedy  rapacity  of  the  hyena 
The  two  men  sent  to  the  Pawnee  village  returned 
about  noon,  stating  that  there  were  none  but  wo- 
men, and  children,  and  very  old  men  at  the  village ; 
the  chiefs  and  the  young  men  having  gone  to  hold 
a  council  wdth  the  Ottoes  and  the  Missouries.   This 
afternoon  the  party  were  again  under  way,  travel- 
ing due  west,  as  the  most  direct  route  to  the  Man- 
dan  country. 


CHAPTER  V 

Qiamcter  of  the  country — Opinion  of  geologists— Rapid  growth  oftintttek 
— 'Beautiful  eight — Prairie  on  fire  at  night — A  lone  tree->A  band  of 
wohres  chasing  a  young  buffalo  bull,  and  killing  him — They  kill  t 
great  many  calves — Sudden  arrival  of  two  young  Indians,  a  Pawnee 
young  man  and  a  Sioux  girL 

It  may  be  remarked,  as  the  general  character  of 
the  comitry  between  the  State  of  Missouri  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  that  the  greater  part  of  it  is  un- 
dulating prairie,  almost  as  vast  and  trackless  as  the 
ocean,  and,  at  the  time  we  treat,  a  terra  incognita  to 
the  white  man.  Some  geologists  suppose  them  to 
have  formed  the  ancient  floor  of  the  Ocean,  count- 
less ages  since,  when  its  primeval  waves  beat 
against  the  granite  bases  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
But  the  opinion,  most  generally  entertained  by 
those  persons  who  reside  in  the  great  prairies  of  the 
West,  is,  that  they  are  formed  by  the  fires  by  which 
they  are  overrun  every  autumn.  In  favor  of  this 
opinion,  quite  a  number  of  facts  can  be  brought  up. 
Where  the  fires  still  prevail,  they  encroach  upon 
the  timber  that  exists,  and  diminish  its  quantity  ev- 
ery year ;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that,  in  the 
process  of  time,  these  regular  autumnal  fires  would 
destroy  all  the  timber  on  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
where  it  may  be  unprotected.  Again ,  it  is  to  be 
CM) 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  67 

remarked  that  in  all  low  places,  such  as  ravines,  hol- 
lows and  river  bottoms  and  small  vallies,  where  the 
dampness  of  the  soil  and  vegetation  is  such  as  to 
check  the  progress  of  these  great  fires,  there  and 
there  only  is  timber  to  be  found.  It  may  be  fur- 
ther stated,  that  where  the  fire  has  been  kept  ou 
for  twenty  five  or  thirty  years,  the  face  of  the  coun 
try  becomes  covered  again  with  a  growth  of  young 
timber,  thirty  and  forty  feet  high.  The  trunks  of 
trees  are  sometimes  found  in  those  prairies,  in  a 
state  of  petrifaction,  which  is  evidence  that  those  vast 
plains  were  once  clothed  with  timber.  Although  in 
many  parts  of  the  prairie  country  timber  is  scarce, 
yet  the  supply  is  sufficient  for  present  purposes,  and 
as  its  growth  is  very  rapid  in  consequence  of  the 
great  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  increase  of  timber  it  is 
believed  will  be  amply  sufficient  for  all  future  de- 
mands 

These  great  fires  are  sometimes  very  beautiful 
and  even  grand  when  seen  in  a  deirk  night.  As 
the  light  of  the  sun  is  withdrawn,  and  night-fall 
comes  on,  the  light  of  those  fires  becomes  more  and 
more  distinct  and  bright,  until  a  beautiful  long,  and 
luminous  line  is  to  /be  seen  stretching  afar  to  the 
right  and  the  left,  across  the  plains.  The  flames 
generally  rise  to  the  height  of  five  or  six  feet ;  but 
when  the  consuming  element  reaches  those  places 
where  the  growth  of  vegetation  is  luxuriant,  it 
blazes  up  thirty  or  forty  feet  high;  and  such  is  the 
reflection  of  the  light  in  the  distant  horizon,  that  it 
may  be  seen  for  fifty  miles,  and  looks  like  the  ap- 
proach of  the  great  luminary  of  day. 


58  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS. 

It  sometimes  happens,  that  a  solitary  tree,  from 
some  peculiar  locality,  remains  unscathed  and  ia 
permitted  to  grow  and  attain  considerable  dimen- 
eiona ;  whilst  not  a  shrub  or  twdg  of  any  description 
is  to  be  seen,  in  any  direction,  for  many  miles. 
Alone  and  isolated,  it  stands  a  beacon  to  the  trav- 
eler over  a  sea  of  prairie,  and  constitutes  a  pleasant 
and  permanent  object,  on  which  he  may  rest  his 
eyes,  that  are  wearied  with  the  monotony  around 
him. 

June  5th.  This  afternoon  something  in  motion 
was  discovered  on  the  prairie  ahead  of  the  com- 
pany, but  so  far  off,  they  were  not  able  to  deter- 
mine what  it  was.  As  they  approached  it.  Captain 
Williams,  by  the  aid  of  a  glass,  ascertained  that  it 
was  a  band  of  wolves  in  full  chase  after  a  buffalo 
coming  directly  towards  the  party.  As  all  were 
anxious  to  see  the  race,  and  how  it  would  termi- 
nate, they  placed  themselves  in  a  position  not  to  be 
noticed  very  readily  by  the  wolves,  and,  in  a  few 
minutes,  they  had  a  fair  view  of  the  whole  affair. 
The  buffalo  proved  to  be  a  well  grown  young  bull, 
in  fine  condition.  There  were  about  twelve  wolves 
of  the  largest  kind,  and  must  have  had  a  long  and 
a  tight  race,  as  they  seemed  (both  wolves  and  buf- 
falo) very  much  fatigued.  As  they  ran  the  wolves 
were  close  around  the  buffalo,  snapping  and  snatch- 
ing all  the  time;  but  they  were  observed  not  to 
seize  and  hold  on  like  a  dog.  Their  mode  of 
taking  the  buffalo  is  to  run  them  down ;  and  when 
they  are  completely  out  of  breath,  by  a  constant 
worrying  and  snatching  kept  up  by  all  hands,  they 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  65 

dfdg  their  victim  to  the  ground,  and  then  fill  them 
selves  with  his  flesh,  sometimes  before  he  is  entirely 
dead. 

Indeed  in  this  case  they  seemed  to  feed  upon 
their  victim  as  they  ran,  for  every  thrust  they  made 
at  him  they  took  away  a  mouthful  of  his  flesh, 
which  they  gulped  as  they  ran,  and  by  the  time 
they  had  brought  him  to  the  ground,  the  flesh  of 
his  hind  quarters  was  taken  away  to  the  bone.  So 
eager  were  they  in  the  chase,  and  so  fierce  was  the 
contest,  that  they  did  not  observe  the  company  un- 
til they  rode  up  within  ten  steps  from  them,  and 
even  then  they  did  not  appear  to  be  much  fright- 
ened, but  scampered  off  a  short  distance  and  sat 
down  and  licked  their  lips,  and  waited  with  much 
impatience  to  be  permitted  to  return  to  their  hard- 
earned  feast.  The  buffalo  had  suffered  violence  in 
every  part.  The  tendons  of  his  hind  legs  were  cut 
asunder ;  the  tuft  of  hair  at  the  end  of  th*;  tail  was 
taken  away,  with  part  of  the  tail ;  pieces  of  hide 
and  flesh,  as  large  as  a  man's  hand,  were  jerked 
out  of  his  sides  in  several  places ;  his  ears  wer« 
much  torn,  and  in  the  battle  he  lost  one  of  his  eye  a. 
Just  before  they  succeeded  in  bringing  him  to  thv 
ground,  one  of  the  pack,  a  very  large  gray  wolf, 
was  seen  to  spring  upon  his  back,  tear  out  a  mouth- 
ful of  his  hump,  and  then  bound  off.  Having  grat- 
ified their  curiosity,  the  men  withdrew,  and  the 
hungry  pack  in  a  moment  set  in,  with  fresh  rapa 
city,  tearing  away  and  gulping  the  bloody  flesh  f>t 
their  victim,  that  still  faintly  struggled  for  lifo. 

Captain  Williams  represents  the  wolves  as  being 


OD  TBB    LOST    TSAPPER8. 

very  numerous,  and  always  to  be  seen  hanging 
about  the  outskirts  of  a  buffalo  herd.  They  kill  a 
great  many  calves,  and  any  that  are  unable,  from 
any  untoward  circumstances,  to  resist  successfully 
their  attacks,  are  sure  to  fall  victims  to  their  ra* 
pacity. 

This  evening,  when  the  company  had  gone  into 
camp,  and  when  they  were  enjoying  their  usual 
repast,  two  young  Indians,  a  young  man  and  a 
squaw,  rode  up  and  alighted  in  the  midst  of  the 
men,  apparently  much  fatigued  and  way-worn. 
Their  presence  filled  the  company  with  amaze- 
ment, and  the  safety  of  the  party  required  of  them 
a  very  prompt  explanation.  They  might  belong  to 
some  marauders  in  that  vicinit}',  who  might  give 
some  trouble.  The  young  Indian,  under  the  pre- 
text of  friendship,  might  be  the  spy  of  a  hostile 
band,  who  were  meditating  an  attack  upon  them. 
But  what  means  this  pretty  young  girl,  who  is  with 
him  ^  War  parties  are  never  encumbered  with 
women.  The  jaded  condition  of  their  horses,  too. 
to  some  extent  allayed  their  fears,  as  it  was  evi- 
dence that  they  were  on  a  long  and  a  severe 
journey. 

The  Mandan  chief  interrogated  him  as  to  his 
object  and  destination,  and  learned  that  he  was  a 
Pawnee,  who  had  been  taken  captive  about  a  year 
before  by  the  Sioux,  and  was  conveyed  by  them  up 
the  Missouri  to  one  of  their  villages,  in  which  he 
remained  until  an  opportunity  to  make  his  escape 
to  his  own  tribe  presented  itself.  The  young  girl 
with  him  was  a  Sioux,  for  whom  he  conceived  a 


THE     LOST     TRAFFERS.  61 

fondness  whilst  among  that  tribe.  The  attachment 
was  not  only  mutual,  but  that  they  might  consum- 
mate their  bliss,  they  found  it  necessary  to  elope. 
They  were  now  flying  to  his  native  village,  to 
which  another  night's  ride,  he  thought,  would 
bring  them.  As  they  seemed  very  much  fatigued, 
and  were  without  any  provisions,  the  party  very 
promptly  tendered  them  the  best  they  had,  which 
was  consumed  with  all  good  relish  by  the  two 
lovers.  After  they  had  enjoyed  a  little  repose 
Captain  Williams,  through  Big  White,  drew  from 
the  young  Pawnee  the  following  details,  that  shall 
fumbh  matter  for  a  short  chapter 


CHAPTER  VI 

Storjr  of  the  Renegade  Lovers,  Doranto  and  NiaigUfc 

DoRANTo  belonged  to  the  Pawnee  Lonps,  whii 
dwelt,  (if  an  Indian  can  be  said  to  dwell  any 
where)  on  the  Wolf  fork  of  the  Platte.  In  company 
with  several  of  his  young  brethren,  he  had  saun- 
tered some  distance  from  their  village,  and  were 
bathing  and  swimming  about  in  a  small  strezim  of 
water,  when  some  marauders  belonging  to  the  Te- 
tons  of  the  Burnt  Woods,  a  tribe  of  Sioux,  suddenly 
came  upon  them,  and  made  a  prisoner  of  him, 
whilst  the  others  were  able  to  effect  their  escape 
He  was  instantly  snatched  up,  tied  on  a  horse,  and 
hurried  away.  The  horse  that  he  rode  was  led  by 
one  of  the  Sioux,  and  goaded  on  by  another  that 
followed  immediately  behind.  They  traveled  night 
and  day,  and  traveled  hard,  until  they  had  reached 
a  point  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  danger.  The 
Tetons  of  the  Burnt  Woods  have  their  main  vil- 
lage in  the  Grand  Detour  or  Great  Bend  of  the  Mis- 
souri river,  the  circuit  of  which  is  thirty  miles 
whilst  the  distance  across  is  a  little  over  a  mile. 

When  they  reached  their  village,  as  Doranto 
proved  to  be  a  son  of  a  grand  chief  of  the  Pawnee 
Loups,  he  was  greatly  prized  as  a  captive,  and, 
on  that  account,  was  placed   in  the  family  of  % 

68 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  W 

principal  chief  of  the  Tetons.  There  was  some- 
thing very  interesting  in  the  person  of  the  young 
captive,  which  no  doubt  secured  to  him  more  con- 
sideration, and  a  kinder  and  more  respectful  treat- 
ment than  captives  generally  experience  in  the 
hands  of  their  captors.  Although,  according  to  his 
own  statement,  he  had  seen  but  sixteen  winters, 
he  was  about  five  feet  and  nine  or  ten  inches  high, 
and,  in  the  view  of  Captain  Williams,  one  of  the 
handsomest  and  best  proportioned  men  he  had 
ever  seen.  The  expression  of  his  countenance, 
which  was  very  fine,  was  very  difierent  from  that 
which  human  nature  usually  bears  in  its  elemen- 
tary state.  He  certainly  possessed,  to  a  remarka- 
ble degree,  that  daring  intrepidity  of  ch£u*acter,  so 
much  admired  by  Indians,  and  which,  of  itself,  and 
unassociated  with  other  excellencies,  in  their  view, 
constitute  the  great  man  and  the  brave. 

It  is  frequently  the  lot  of  captives  and  prisoners 
to  some  extent,  to  occupy  the  relation  of  servants, 
and  have  assigned  those  menial  and  domestic  offices 
which  are  never  performed  by  men,  but  constitute 
the  employment  of  women.  To  be  compelled  to 
occupy  this  position  in  society,  was  very  mortify- 
ing to  the  Indian  pride  of  Doranto ;  but  he  was 
somewhat  reconciled  to  it,  as  it  threw  him  in  the 
company  of  a  beautiful  daughter  of  the  chief,  whose 
name  was  Niargua.  He  was  not  permitted  to  go 
to  war,  or  to  hunt  the  buffalo,  the  elk,  and  the  an- 
telope, a  mode  of  life  too  tame  and  inactive,  it  was 
true,  for  his  restless  and  mettlesome  spirit,  but  then 
it  gave  him  freguent  opportunities  of  walking,  and 


M  THE    LOST    TRAPPEK8 

talking,  and  laughing  with  the  Teton  damsel  ovci 
whose  heart  it  was  his  good  fortune  to  gain  a  conr- 
plete  victory.  But  it  would  not  do  for  the  daughter 
of  a  distinguished  chief  to  be  the  wife  of  a  captive 
slave,  belonging  to  a  tribe,  too,  against  which  the 
chief  entertained  a  deep-seated  hostility,  for  past 
insults  and  injuries.  This  would  be  a  flagrant  viola- 
tion of  every  notion  of  Indian  aristocracy.  By  the 
way,  the  mother  of  the  young  princess,  who  had 
noticed  the  growing  familiarity  of  the  two  lovers, 
reported  the  matter  to  the  chief,  whose  duties  had 
kept  him  generally  from  home.  As  the  intelligence 
was  veiy  imexpected,  and  by  no  means  agreeable 
to  his  feelings,  his  daughter  was  not  only  very 
roughly  reproved,  but  a  severe  flagellation  must  be 
inflicted  to  appease  his  wrath.  He  likewise 
threatened  to  shoot  an  arrow  through  Doranto  foi* 
his  bold  pretensions.  The  result  of  this  eflfort  "  to 
break  the  match,"  in  this,  as  in  similar  cases  in  civ- 
ilized life,  was  not  only  unsuccessful,  but  8er\'^ed  to 
increase  the  flame  it  was  intended  to  extinguish, 
and  to  strengthen,  instead  of  dissolving,  the  attach- 
ment between  the  parties.  If  their  partiality  for 
each  other  was  not  so  visible  and  open,  they  were 
not  the  less  determined  to  carry  out  their  designs. 
When  Doranto  perceived  that  difficulties  were  in 
the  way,  that  would  ever  be  insuperable  whilst  he 
remained  among  the  Tetons,  he  inmiediately  con- 
ceived the  bold  design  of  eloping  to  his  own  people, 
and  embraced  the  first  opportimity  to  apprise  his 
betrothed  of  his  thoughts.  The  proposition  met 
«rith  a  prompt  and  a  hearty  response  on  her  part 


VIIK    LOST    TIArPElS.  91 

jShc  was  ready  to  go  with  him  wherever  he  went, 
and  to  die  where  he  died. 

But  there  was  a  young  warrior  among  the  Teton  ■ 
who  also  desired  the  hand  of  the  Sioux  belle,  and 
greatly  envied  the  position  Doranto  occupied  in  the 
eyes  of  Niargua.  Indeed  he  entertained  the  most 
deadly  hate  toward  the  Pawnee  captive,  and 
suffered  no  opportunity  to  show  it,  to  pass  on 
improved.  Doranto  was  by  no  means  ignorant  of 
the  young  warrior's  feelings  of  jealousy  and  hate, 
Dut  he  sensibly  felt  his  disabilities  as  an  alien  in  the 
tribe,  and  pursued  a  course  of  forbearance  as  most, 
likely  to  ensure  the  accomplishment  of  his  designs. 
Still  there  were  bounds  beyond  which  his  code  of 
honor  would  not  suffer  his  enemy  to  pass.  On  one 
occasion,  the  young  brave  offered  Doranto  the 
greatest  and  the  most  intolerable  insult,  which,  in 
the  estimation  of  the  western  tribes  one  man  can 
fdve  to  another.  "  You  stink"  were  the  offensive 
words  of  the  Teton  warrior,  embracing  the  great  in- 
dignity. 

The  person  upon  whom  this  indignity  is  cast,  by 
a  law  among  those  tribes,  may  take  away  the  life 
of  the  offender,  if  he  can ;  but  it  is  customary,  and 
thought  more  honorable,  to  settle  the  difficulty  by 
single  combat,  in  which  the  parties  may  use  thf^ 
kind  of  weapons  on  which  they  may  mutually 
agree.  Public  sentiment  will  admit  of  no  compro- 
mise. If  no  resistance  is  offered  to  the  insult,  the 
person  insulted  is  thenceforth  a  disgraced  wretch,  a 
dog,  and  universally  despised.  Doranto  forthwith 
4i)manded  satisfaction  Sioux,  who,  by 


66  TBK  LOST  TEArraii. 

the  way,  was  "  cut  and  dry"  to  give  it,  being  fiiU 
of  game  and  mettle,  as  well  as  sanguine  ds  to  the 
victory  he  would  gain  o\er  the  young  Pawnee. 
They  agreed  to  settle  their  difficulty  by  single  com  • 
bat,  and  the  weapons  to  be  used  were  war-cluba 
and  short  knives.  A  suitable  place  was  selected. 
The  whole  village  of  the  Tetons  emptied  itself  to 
witness  the  combat.  Men,  women  and  children 
swarmed  about  the  arena.  The  two  youthful  com- 
batants made  their  appearance,  stark  naked,  and 
took  their  positions  about  thirty  yards  apart.  Just 
when  the  signal  was  given,  Doranto  caught  the  eye 
of  Niargua  in  the  crowd.  Then  said  he  "  my  heart 
was  big  and  my  arm  strong ;  no  fear,  then,  in  Do- 
ranto." As  the  champions  advanced  towards  each 
other,  the  Sioux  was  too  precipitate,  and  by  the 
impulse  of  his  charge,  was  carried  rather  beyond 
Doranto,  who,  being  more  cool  and  deliberate,  gave 
him  a  blow  with  his  war  club  as  he  passed,  on  the 
back  of  his  neck,  that  perfectly  stunned  him,  and 
brought  him  to  the  ground.  Doranto  then  sprung 
apon  him  and  dispatched  him  by  a  single  thrust  of 
his  blade.  The  relatives  of  the  unfortunate  Sioux 
raised  a  loud  lament,  and  with  that  piteous  kind 
of  howling  peculiar  to  Indians,  bore  him  away. 
DoraLtt  was  now  regarded  as  a  young  brave,  and 
was  greatly  advanced  in  the  general  esteem  of  the 
village.  He  must  now  be  an  adopted  son,  and  no 
longer  a  woman,  but  go  to  war,  and  hunt  the  buf 
falo,  the  elk,  and  tlie  antelope. 

The  father  of  Nieu-gua,  however,  in  this  matte«, 
gmtt  be  excepted.    In  the  general  excitomeni  in 


THB    LOST    TSAFFEK8.  61 

6ehalf  of  the  lucky  captive,  he  lagged  behind,  and 
was  reserved  and  sullen.  Having  conceived  a  dis« 
like  for  him,  he  was  not  inclir«d  to  confer  upon 
him  the  honors  he  had  so  fairly  won.  And  then  it 
would  not  do  to  appear  delighted  with  the  valor  of 
the  young  Pawnee.  Niargua  was  his  favorite 
child,  and  she  must  be  the  wife  of  some  distin- 
guished personage.  But  the  chief  was  doomed,  as 
many  a  father  is,  to  be  out-witted  by  his  daughter, 
in  matters  of  this  kind.  At  a  time  when  he  was 
absent,  holding  a  council  with  a  neighboring  tribe 
of  the  Sioux,  upon  great  national  affairs,  Doranto 
picked  out  two  of  the  chief's  best  horses,  on  which 
to  escape  with  his  girl  to  his  own  tribe.  Niargua 
was  ready.  When  the  village  was  sunk  in  a  pro- 
found sleep,  she  met  him  in  a  sequestered  place, 
bringing  a  supply  of  provisions  for  the  trip.  In  a 
moment  they  were  in  their  saddles  and  away. 
They  were  not  less  than  three  long  sleeps  from 
his  own  people,  and  would  be  followed  by  some  of 
the  Tetons  as  long  as  there  was  any  hope  of  over- 
taking them.  By  morning,  however,  there  would 
be  such  a  wide  space  between  them  and  their  pur- 
suers, as  to  make  their  escape  entirely  practicable 
if  no  mishap  should  befall  them  on  the  way.  "  They 
had  good  horses,"  said  Doranto,  "good  hearts,  good 
moon,  good  weather,  good  country  to  travel  over 
and  above  all  a  good  cause,  and  why  not  good  luck.' 
They  traveled  day  and  night,  never  stopping  anj 
longer  than  was  absolutely  necessary  to  rest  theii 
borses.  Captain  Williams  represented  the  Teton 
damsel  as  very  pretty,  but  very  young  for  an  un 


M  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS 

dertaking  requiring  so  much  self-denial,  patience, 
and  fortitude,  and  in  which  she  was  exposed  to 
great  fatigue  and  very  severe  toil.  Her  resolution 
was,  however,  quite  commensurate  to  her  difficul- 
ties  and  trials. 

The  company  tried  to  prevail  upon  the  young 
Pawnee  to  stay  with  them  until  morning,  and  en- 
joy that  rest  and  refreshment  which  he  and  his  girl 
BO  much  needed ;  but  he  replied  that  they  had  not 
slept  any  since  they  set  out  on  their  flight,  nor  did 
they  even  dare  to  think  of  closing  their  eyes  before 
they  should  reach  the  village  of  the  Pawnees.  He 
knew  that  he  would  be  pursued,  as  long  as  there 
was  the  faintest  hope  of  overtaldng  him ;  and  he 
also  knew  what  his  doom  would  be,  if  he  again 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Sioux.  Having  remained, 
therefore,  in  the  camp  scarcely  an  hour,  the  two 
fugitive  lovers  were  again  on  the  wing,  flying  over 
the  gi-een  prairie,  guided  by  the  light  of  a  full  and 
beautiful  moon,  and  animated  and  sustained  by  the 
purity  of  their  motives,  and  the  hope  of  soon  reach- 
ing a  place  of  safety  and  protection.  The  party 
could  not  but  admire  the  courage  of  the  Teton 
beauty,  and  the  cheerfulness,  and  even  hilarity, 
that  she  manifested  while  in  their  camp.  "When 
about  to  set  off",  she  leaped  from  the  ground,  unas- 
sisted, into  her  Indian  saddle,  reined  up  her  horse, 
and  was  instantly  beside  him  with  whom  she  was 
now  ready  to  share  any  trial  and  to  brave  any 
danger. 

What  an  exhibition  is  this  of  female  fortitude 
Uiat  kind  of  heroism,  peculiar  to  the  sex,  which 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS-  6ft 

elevates  woman  to  a  summit  perfectly  inaccessible 
to  sublunary  difficulties,  and  enables  her  to  view, 
with  undisturbed  complacency  of  soul,  all  that  oc- 
curs beneath  her  feet.  What  an  auxiliary  to  man 
is  woman  !  in  bearing  his  quota  of  life's  trials  and 
difficulties,  and  how  does  she  light  up  his  dark 
hours  of  adversity  with  her  sunny  smiles  of  cheer- 
fulness, and  prompt  him  to  make  anotlier  effort^ 
when  and  where,  unassisted  and  unencouraged,  h« 
would  have  yielded  to  despair. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Bitmx  and  Sioax  country — Land  Pirates — Strength  of  the  Sioox^- 
Donbtful  character  of  the  statements  about  the  numbers  of  the  western 
tribes — Sioux's  intention  to  intercept  the  return  of  Big  Whit&— Cai^ 
son  lost  again — His  horse  killed  in  a  bufifalo  chase — Bufifalo  hunting 
—Its  dangers— Strength,  activity  and  size  of  the  bufialo— Purity  and 
dryness  of  the  atmosphere — Indian  encampment— Arrival  at  For< 
Mandan. 

Having  reached  the  Platte  country,  Captain  Wil- 
liams was  aware  of  the  fact,  that  increasing  dan- 
gers beset  their  route,  and  that  he  was  now  in  a  re- 
gion full  of  hazard,  and  in  which  theiitmost  caution 
was  necessary  to  prevent  his  company  from  being 
cat  off.  The  greater  part  of  the  country,  at  that  day, 
between  the  river  Platte  and  the  Mandan  nation^ 
was  infested  with  a  variety  of  tribes  of  Sioux, 
whose  predatory  habits  had  justly  secured  to  them 
the  title  of"  land  pirates,"  who  were  a  terror  to  all 
other  tribes,  on  account  of  their  superior  numbers 
and  their  savage  and  ferocious  diaposition.  Le^vis 
and  Clarke  represent  them  as  being  subdivided  into 
ten  tribes;  the  Yanktona,  Tetons,  Minnake-nozzo, 
Tetons  Saone,  Yanktons  of  the  Plains,  or  Big 
Devils,  Wapatone,  Mindawarcarton,  Wahpatoota, 
or  Leaf  Beds,  and  the  Sistasooua :  and  by  means  of 
different  interpreters,  whilst  in  the  Sioux  couutry, 
they  learned  that  their  men  of  wai'  numbered  about 

(70) 


TBB    LOST    TBAPPBR8.  7| 

two  thouaand  five  hundred.  In  1836  the  Sioux 
were  represented  as  numbering  about  27,000  men, 
women  and  children.  A  subsequent  account  speaki 
of  these  bands  as  probably  numbering  from  40,000 
to  60,000.  We  are  disposed  to  receive  these  ac- 
counts, as  we  receive  all  statements  about  the  nu- 
merical strength  of  the  tribes  of  the  far  west,  as 
very  uncertain.  Correctness  no  doubt  has  been 
aimed  at,  but  correctness  in  a  great  majority  of  cases 
can  not  be  attained.  One  thing  is  certain,  the 
Sioux  have  been  diminishing  very  fast.  Many  of 
the  tribes  have  been  broken  down,  and  lost  their 
names  ;  and  the  nation,  tujw  is  not  such  a  formid- 
able body  of  freebooters  as  they  were  in  the  days 
of  which  we  are  treating. 

The  ten  tribes,  whose  names  we  have  furnished, 
were  scattered  up  and  down  the  Missouri  river,  and 
were  constantly  on  the  prowl,  scouring  the  country 
from  the  waters  of  the  Platte  to  the  Black  Hills  and 
the  Mandan  region.  They  were  very  hostile  to  the 
Mandans,  who  dwelt  above  them  on  the  Missouri, 
and  as  they  had  seen  Big  White  on  his  way  to  the 
states,  in  company  with  Lewis  and  Clarke,  they  ex- 
pected his  return,  and  were  on  the  alert  to  prevent 
his  going  back  to  his  nation.  They  entertained  the 
idea  that  the  whites  would  furnish  the  Mandans 
with  arms,  and  make  them  more  formidable  than 
they  were,  at  that  time.  For  this  reason  the  Sioux 
aimed  to  intercept  all  communication  between  our 
veople  and  the  tribes  above  them.  And  for  a  num- 
jer  of  years  subsequent  to  1807  they  resisted  all 
efforts  made  by  various  expeditions  to  push  their 


72  THE    LOST    THAPPES8. 

way  to  those  upper  tribes.  Captain  Williams  wai 
fully  impressed  with  the  fact,  that  the  difEcultiea 
that  were  before  him  were  much  greater  than  those 
his  party  had  already  encountered,  and  that  their 
vigilance  must  be  increased  and  every  expedient 
adopted  to  elude  the  observation  of  those"  land  pi- 
rates," through  whose  country  they  were  now  pass- 
ing. It  was  some  consolation  to  the  party,  that 
the  Sioux  expected  them  to  ascend  the  Missouri 
river,  and  in  all  probability,  the  gi-eater  part  of  their 
Ararriors  would  be  collected  on  that  river  to  drive 
them  back. 

For  this  reason,  and  another,  stated  in  another 
place,  Captain  Williams  left  the  Mssouri  not  less 
than  one  hundred  miles  on  his  right,  and  thereby 
avoided  all  the  large  Indian  towns  on  that  river.  If 
he  should  fall  in  with  any  of  the  Sioux  on  the  route 
he  was  pursuing,  they  would  be  dispersed  hunting 
parties,  with  whom  he  would  be  able  to  cope,  if  it 
should  be  his  misfortune  to  be  involved  in  a  diffi- 
culty. Game,  too,  would  be  more  abundant  in  that 
region,  and  the  more  easily  and  safely  procured ; 
which  was  an  important  consideration,  as  th« 
safety  of  the  party  required  that  they  should  push 
their  way  through  this  dangerous  country  with  aU 
possible  speed. 

On  the  day  after  leaving  the  main  Platte,  a  band 
of  buffalo  were  observed  feeding  very  quietly  about 
the  fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  party,  offering  an  op- 
portunity for  those  who  desired  it  to  show  tlieii 
horsemanship  and  skill  in  a  buffalo  hunt.  Although 
they  had  a  supply  of  meat,  and  it  was  the  purpose* 


THB    LOST    TRAPPIB8.  7S 

of  Captain  Williams  that  there  should  be  no  more 
shooting  than  was  necesssiry,  the  impetuous  youtht 
Carson,  begged  permission  to  try  his  hand. 

The  captain  granted  his  request,  as  it  was  near 
8un-set,  and  the  company  came  to  a  halt  to  take 
their  usual  repast,  as  well  as  to  witness  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  young  Nimrod.  The  more  experienced 
men  of  the  company  urged  Carson  not  to  venture 
too  near  the  object  of  his  pursuit,  nor  too  far  from 
the  company,  as  both  steps  would  be  accompanied 
with  much  danger.  The  young  man  felt  it  to  bo 
the  safer  plan  to  undertake  the  matter  on  horse- 
back, and  as  the  rifle  is  not  easily  handled  when 
horse  and  buffalo  are  at  full  speed,  he  armed  him- 
self with  two  braces  of  pistols.  The  buffalo  very 
soon  observed  his  approach,  looked  frightened,  and 
put  off  at  quite  a  fast  gait.  This  made  it  neces- 
sary that  he  should  increase  the  speed  of  his  horse, 
and  immediately  hunter,  horse  and  buffalo  were 
out  of  sight. 

Having  refreshed  themselves  and  horses,  the 
party  would  have  resumed  their  journey,  but  Car- 
son had  not  returned.  Night-fall  came  on,  and  still 
he  did  not  make  his  appearance.  Many  unhappy 
fears  now  pervaded  the  camp  as  to  his  safety,  and 
the  suspicious  circumstances  of  his  absence  pre- 
vented the  men  generally  from  sleeping  that  night. 
Early  the  next  morning  some  of  the  men  went  to 
hunt  Carson,  and  without  much  difficulty  found  him. 
He  was  sitting  on  a  rock  near  a  small  stream, 
perfectly  lost.  Some  of  the  men,  when  looking 
for  him,  had  seen  him  when  about  a  mile  off,  and 
f 


74  TBI     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

iuppoeed  that,  he  was  an  Indian,  as  he  had  no  horse, 
and  were  very  near  leaving  him  to  his  fate ;  hut  the 
thought  that  they  might  be  misfaken  prompted 
them  to  approach  him,  and  they  recognized  him. 
He  had  a  doleful  histor}^  to  give  of  his  buffalo  hunt. 
According  to  his  account,  he  pursued  the  buffalo 
four  or  five  miles  before  he  could  overtake  them. 
At  first,  and  for  some  time,  he  could  not  get  hie 
horse  near  enough  to  use  his  pistols  with  any  effect. 
After  repeated  unsuccessful  efforts  to  ride  up  by 
the  side  of  a  verj'  large  bull,  he  fell  immediately 
behind  him,  firing  as  ne  ran.  His  repeated  shots 
threw  the  animal  into  the  greatest  rage,  and  as 
bull,  horse  and  rider  were  in  full  drive  dowTi  the 
side  of  a  declivit)',  the  infuriated  buffalo  stopped 
suddenly  and  wheeled  about  for  battle.  Carson's 
horse,  not  trained  to  such  dangerous  exercises,  fol- 
lowing immediately  behind,  and  at  the  moment 
perfectly  unmanageable,  rushed  upon  the  horns  of 
his  antagonist,  and  was  thrown  headlong  to  the 
ground,  with  his  rider.  When  he  had  recovered 
from  the  confusion  of  the  moment,  and  gained  hia 
feet  again,  Carson  was  glad  to  see  his  buffalo  mov- 
ing off  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carrj'  him ;  but  his 
horse  was  so  badly  wounded  that  he  could  be  of  no 
service  to  him.  When  he  called  to  his  recollection 
his  party,  and  would  have  returned  to  them,  he 
knew  not  the  way  to  go.  In  the  great  excitement 
of  the  chase,  he  paid  no  attention  to  the  direction 
he  waa  going.  And  what  was  worse,  he  was  now 
on  foot,  and  several  miles  from  the  company.  To 
be  lost  in  a  prairie  country  is  worse  than  being  lost 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  T& 

tn  woods.  His  horse  was  so  badly  injured,  that  ha 
abandoned  him  and  wandered  about,  when  he  crept 
into  a  hazel  patch,  where  he  slept  until  morning 
without  anything  to  disturb  his  rest  except  several 
bruises,  he  received  in  the  fall  from  his  horse.  At 
the  earliest  dawn  of  day,  he  crawled  out  of  his  hid- 
ing place,  and  very  cautiously  examined  the  sea  of 
prairie  around  him  to  ascertain  whether  any  Indiana 
were  to  be  seen.  Observing  nothing  that  indicated 
danger,  he  set  out  in  search  for  his  party,  and 
tramped  about  and  around,  until  hunger  and  fa- 
tigue compelled  him  to  sit  down  where  he  had  been 
found.  As  they  returned  to  the  camp,  they  passed 
his  unfortunate  horse.  He  was  dead,  and  a  band 
of  hungry  wolves  had  already  found  his  carcass  and 
were  greedily  snatching  and  gulping  his  flesh.  In 
fact,  the  men  thought  the  wounded  horse  had  been 
killed  by  the  wolves,  as  they  were  very  numerous 
and  fierce,  and  would  attack  a  horse  as  soon  as  any 
thing  else,  especially  if  they  were  incited  by  the 
smell  of  blood.  They  had  even  committed  violence 
upon  Carson's  saddle,  which  he  had  removed  from 
his  horse,  and  left  on  the  prairie,  for  want  of  a  tree 
in  which  to  secure  it.  They  frequently  get  together 
in  considerable  gangs,  and  when  emboldened  by 
numbers,  and  especially  when  infuriated  by  hunger, 
dreadful  is  the  fate  of  anything  that  crosses  their 
path.  The  unlucky  and  now  crest-fallen  hunter 
had  a  hundred  queptions  to  answer  when  he  re- 
turned to  camp ;  nor  did  he  feel  like  being  taunted 
in  this  way,  as  he  had  fasted  for  the  last  twelve  or 
ftfteen  hours,  had  undergone  great  ftitigae,  and  re 


79  TBB     LOST    TXAPPERS. 

ceived  several  severe  bruises  in  the  bargain.  The 
horse  was  a  favorite  animal ;  but  he  had  learned  a 
lesson  (though  dearly)  that  was  worth  a  number  of 
horses  to  him  and  the  company.  A  party  of  raw 
and  inexperienced  men, In  these  expeditions,  gene- 
rally buy  their  vdt,  at  this  deai'  rate.  And  in  a 
majority  of  cases  they  cannot  be  prevailed  upon  to 
practice  the  necessary  caution,  until  by  the  want 
of  it  they  are  betrayed  into  a  few  and  sometimes 
very  serious  difficulties.  It  is  very  rash  and  ex- 
tremely hazardous  for  a  single  man  to  engage  in  a 
buffalo  chase  in  a  country  infested  with  prowling 
bands  of  Indians,  whose  constant  aim  is  to  surprise 
and  kill.  It  was  viewed  as  a  mere  accident  that 
Carson  was  not  killed  by  the  buffalo  he  had  woun- 
ded, or  that  he  had  not  fallen  into  the  hands  of  hos- 
tile Indians.  When  he  set  off  on  the  chase,  Big 
White  shook  his  head  by  way  of  disapprobation, 
and  as  prognostic  of  some  mishap  that  was  likely 
to  befall  him ;  and  the  party  always  found,  that  the 
suggestions  of  the  old  Mandan  chief  could  not  be 
neglected  with  safety,  as  he  was  a  veteran  warrior, 
habituated  to  all  that  kind  of  unremitting  watchful- 
ness, that  an  Indian  begins  to  practice  from  his  in- 
fancy. 

We  have  said  that  it  was  very  dangerous  for  an 
inexperienced  hand  to  engage  in  a  buffalo  hunt 
on  a  horse  that  has  not  been  trained  to  the  busi- 
ness. A  well  trained  horse  will  always  bound  off 
to  one  side  or  the  other  out  of  the  way  of  the  buf- 
falo, when  he  stops  to  fight,  and  it  frequently  hap- 
pens, if  the  rider  Li  not  '^  up  to*'  the  quick  and 


THE     LOST    TRAPPEBS.  77 

sudden  movements  of  his  horse,  he  is  thrown  into 
the  midst  of  danger.  The  buffalo  stops  to  make 
battle  only  when  he  is  wounded  or  finds  escape 
impossible.  He  then  wields  his  great  strength  and 
activity  in  self  defence.  We  have  read  a  number 
of  incidents  said  to  have  occun-ed  in  buffalo  hunts, 
the  correctness  of  which  we  are  disposed  to  doubt, 
as  we  think  they  are  unauthorized,  from  what  we 
have  been  able  to  gather  from  men  who  have  spent 
the  half  of  their  lives  in  the  buffalo  country.  We 
have  alluded  to  their  great  strength  and  remarka- 
ble activity  and  quickness  of  motion.  The  horse 
that  overtakes  them  must  be  very  fast,  and  then 
they  run  for  many  miles  over  the  plains,  without 
seeming  to  fail.  When  broke  to  work  (a  thing  very 
easily  done)  one  buffalo  will  break  down  three  or 
four  of  our  cattle.  This  has  been  fairly  and  fre- 
quently tried  on  the  frontier.  A  gentleman  living 
in  Missouri  informed  me  that  he  had  a  buffalo  bull 
that  could  work  all  day  on  an  inclined  plane,  whilst 
he  was  obliged  to  change  his  tame  cattle  every 
three  hours.  Another  gentleman  in  the  same  re- 
gion of  country  had  a  buffalo  bull  that  would  leap 
over  an  enclosure  eight  and  ten  rails  high,  without 
touching  it.  This  bull,  in  a  contest  with  one  of 
our  domestic  animals,  would  always  prove  himself 
victor  in  a  very  few  moments.  The  males  fre- 
quently attain  an  enormous  size,  and  it  is  no  un- 
common thing  to  see  on  the  plains  those  that  will 
weigh  three  thousand  pounds,  gross. 

As  they  were  favored  with  moon  light  and  very 
fine  weather,  the  company  thought  it  the  safer  plan 


THE    LOUT    TRAPPEE8. 

to  travel  during  the  night,  when  circumstancei 
were  favorable,  and  to  remain  the  greater  part  of 
the  day  in  a  state  of  inactivity,  at  least  when  it 
would  be  accompanied  with  much  danger  to  move. 
They  procured  their  meat,  of  course,  during  the 
day,  and  enjoyed  their  repast  at  the  same  time,  as 
they  never  kindled  fires  after  dark,  for  light  in  a 
prairie  country  is  seen  a  great  distance,  and,  more 
than  any  thing  else,  would  lead  to  their  discovery. 
During  their  passage  through  this  region  of  dan- 
ger, their  usual  way  was  to  travel  all  night,  until 
about  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning,  when  they 
would  seek  some  sequestered  place  to  refresh  them- 
selves and  horses.  They  always  occupied  an  atti- 
tude of  defence,  and  every  one  lay  ^vith  his  arms 
beside  him,  whilst  they  never  failed  to  plant  their 
scout  around  to  look  out  for  Indians.  They  slept 
by  turns,  and  never  more  than  half  of  the  men 
slept  at  a  time.  In  this  way  they  traveled  for 
twenty  days,  performing  a  greater  part  of  their 
joumeyings  after  night.  Game  was  very  abun- 
dant, but  they  killed  no  more  than  was  necessary 
to  furnish  themselves  with  meat. 

Their  nocturnal  movements  were  not,  however, 
without  interest,  nor  were  they  barren  in  interest- 
ing events.  In  those  regions  the  atmosphere  is 
very  pure  and  elastic,  and  the  sky  has  a  deUghtfol 
blue,  in  which  cannot  be  seen  for  weeks  and  even 
months,  any  thing  like  vapour  or  clouds.  When 
the  moon  shone,  it  was  with  an  effulgence  almost 
equal  to  that  of  a  vertical  sun.     And  when  the 


THE     LOST    TSAPPBKf.  79 

moon  did  not  favor  them  with  her  light,  the  starry 
firmament  appeared  with  a  brilliancy  and  a  glory 
which  they  had  never  witnessed  in  any  other  coun- 
try. This  dryness,  purity,  and  elasticity  of  atmos- 
phere, this  delicious  transparent  blue,  said  to  be- 
long also  to  Italian  skies,  increase  as  the  traveler 
approaches  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  usual  dry 
season  that  prevails  in  that  country  had  already 
commenced ;  the  water  courses  were  very  low,  and 
threw  but  few  obstructions  in  their  way.  Vast 
prairies  generally  spread  around  them,  covered 
with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass  and  wild  flowers. 
But  the  face  of  the  country  was  frequently  cut  up 
by  deep,  dry,  ravines  or  gullies,  which,  being  im- 
passable, made  the  route  sometimes  very  circuitous. 
Along  the  rich  bottoms  of  the  rivers  and  ravines 
were  groves  of  trees,  with  thick  entangled  under- 
growth, in  which  our  little  party  generally  sought  t« 
hide  themselves  from  the  observation  of  the  prowl- 
ing, free-booting  Sioux.  From  one  of  those  fast- 
nesses, in  the  latter  part  of  the  day  they  would 
Bccretly  and  silently  emerge  and  travel  all  night, 
when  the  next  day  they  would  turn  aside  into  an- 
other of  these  hiding  places.  They  dispensed  with 
fire  as  often  as  they  could,  as  the  smoke  ascending 
very  high  is  very  apt  to  attract  the  notice  of  Indi- 
ans. They  frequently  saw  bands  of  Indians,  that 
invariably  hovered  about  their  route,  but  by  making 
sham  encampments  and  deceptive  fires,  and  then 
traveling  all  night,  they  succeeded  in  escapijui;  the 
dutches  of  the  Arabs  of  the  west. 


60  TIB    LOST    TKAPrill. 

One  night  about  an  hour  after  dark,  they  saw  be 
fore  them  a  light  that  indicated,  as  they  thought 
an  Indian  encampment.  As  they  approached  it 
they  found  that  they  were  not  mistaken.  Captain 
Williams  thought  it  the  safer  plan  for  his  party  not 
to  pass  veiy  near  their  camp,  and  when  within  a 
mile  of  it,  he  directed  his  men  to  come  to  a  halt, 
and  to  remain  where  the}  ^ere  until  he,  in  com- 
pany with  the  Mandan  chief,  would  approach  the 
camp  near  enough  to  make  some  observations. 
Accordingly,  accompanied  by  Big  White,  he  crept 
op  within  a  few  hundred  yards  and  reconnoiiered 
their  camp  for  a  half-hour.  They  had  twelve  or 
fifteen  fires,  and  there  must  have  been  not  less 
than  one  hundred  Indians.  Some  were  lying  down, 
and  some  were  passing  to  and  fro,  whilst  others 
were  standing  around  the  fires.  A  portion  of  them 
were  squaws,  who  seemed  to  be  very  busy,  for 
Captain  Williams  discovered  they  were  a  hunting 
party,  who  were  procuring  meat  in  that  region, 
and  the  squaws  were  drying  it  for  winter.  He 
observed  their  long  poles,  on  which  they  exposed 
their  meat  to  the  sun.  A  great  number  of  horsea 
were  grazing  around  the  camp. 

Having  gratified  their  curiosity,  the  captain  and 
the  chief  quietly  made  their  way  back  to  their 
company,  fully  convinced  of  the  expediency  of 
getting  out  of  that  region  as  fast  as  their  horses 
could  carry  them.  They  were  apprehensive  that 
these  savages  might  observe  their  trail,  and  en- 
deavor to  overtake  them.     They  therefore  pushed 


THBLOSTFRAPPERfl.  91 

<4liead  all  that  night,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
next  day,  before  they  went  into  camp. 

Without  troubling  the  reader  with  all  the  inci- 
dents of  this  part  of  the  expedition,  we  will  state 
that  on  the  first  day  of  July  Captain  Williams,  with 
his  party,  arrived  safely  at  Fort  Mandan,  in  the 
ftlandan  nation 


CHAPTER  VI!* 

tcj  of  the  Mandans  on  the  arrival  of  their  chief— Indian  gravity  and  A 
leooe — Their  mutual  attachment — Their  grief  for  the  dead — Repoar 
of  the  party — They  resume  their  journey — Unknown  canger  beforp 
them — Black-feet  Indians — Their  hostility  to  the  whites — Yellow 
Stone— Hunter's  Elysium — Indian  caught  in  a  trap— Five  men  killed 
in  a  bufialo  hunt  by  the  Black-feet — Danger  of  the  company — they 
leave  that  rogion — Crow*— One  of  their  men  leaves  them. 

Nothing  could  exceed,  says  Captain  Williams,  the 
enthusiastic  joy  of  the  Mandans  upon  the  arrival  of 
their  old  and  much  loved  chief.  It  was  something 
they  had  not  expected,  as  they  had  heard,  (a  thing 
very  likely  to  occur)  that  he  had  been  killed  by  the 
Sioux,  together  with  the  pairty,  that  were  conduct- 
ing him  home,  on  the  Missouri  river.  As  they  had 
believed  the  report,  knowing  as  they  did  the  hostile 
character  of  the  Sioux,  they  had  mourned  for 
their  lost  chief,  and  had  gone  through  the  usual 
forms  intended  to  express  their  sorrow  and  regard 
for  the  dead.  Their  surprise  was  equalled  only  by 
their  joy,  when  they  had  the  unexpected  pleasure 
of  again  looking  upon  the  face  of  their  venerated 
tnd  long-absent  hero.  They  received  him  as  di- 
rectly from  the  spirit  land,  and  as  one  from  the 
grave.  For  several  days,  the  excitement  produced 
by  hia  arrival,  was  kept  up,  and  kept  everything  in 


THE    LOST    TBAPPBRS.  83 

motion.  There  was  feasting,  and  there  was  dan- 
cing, throughout  the  village.  They  sang  their  wild 
chants,  and  whilst  they  extolled  the  faith  of  the 
whites,  in  bringing  back  their  chief  and  his  family, 
they  made  their  thanksgiving  sacrifices  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  for  that  protection  that  had  overshadowea 
their  old  warrior.  Runners  were  sent  to  other 
villages  in  several  directions  to  spread  the  news, 
and  for  several  days  hundreds  of  curious  visitors 
consisting  of  men,  women  and  children,  came  to  see 
the  party  of  white  men,  and  especially  Big  White, 
who  now  in  their  eyes  was  something  superhuman. 
The  reader  may  be  ready  to  suppose  that  the  old 
acquaintances  of  Big  White  would  tease  him  al- 
most to  death  with  innumerable  questions  about  the 
country  of  the  white  man,  from  which  he  had  just 
returned ;  but  it  may  be  stated,  as  something  pecu- 
liar to  Indians  generally,  that  they  always  repress 
a  curiosity  of  this,  kind,  and  conduct  themselves 
with  great  dignity,  gravity  and  silence,  when  one 
of  their  company  may  be  detailing  important  infor- 
mation. This  seems  to  be  a  part  of  their  educa- 
tion, and  a  rule  into  the  violation  of  which  they  are 
seldom  betrayed  by  any  kind  of  excitement.  In- 
dians, generally,  are  prone  to  be  taciturn  and  grave 
yet  their  natural  sensibilities  are  very  deep  and 
strong.  A  mutual  and  ardent  attachment  pervades 
the  whole  tribe,  however  numerous,  and  binds  them 
all  together  as  closely  as  brothers ;  and  although  a 
tribe  may  number  several  hundred,  if  any  one  dies 
or  ie  killed  by  a  foe,  all  alike  give  themselves  up  to 
the  most  wild  and  extravagant  grief:  nor  does  tbs 


64  THE   ajOSt  trappers. 

greatest  victory  over  their  enemies  in  battle  atone 
for  the  loss  of  a  single  warrior.  The  lamentations 
and  hovvlings  about  an  Indian  village  after  a  battle 
are  to  be  heard  in  every  direction,  although  they 
generally  aim  to  retire  to  some  sequestered  spot  to 
empty  the  heart  of  its  abounding  grief. 

Irving,  in  his  Astoria,  alludes  to  this  practice 
among  the  vvrestern  tri>»es  in  the  following  beauti- 
ful language  :  "  But  sounds  of  another  kind  were 
heard  on  the  surrounding  hills ;  piteous  wailinga 
of  the  women,  who  had  retired  thither  to  mourn 
in  d£irkness  and  solitude  for  those  who  had  fallen 
in  battle.  There  the  poor  mother  of  the  youth- 
ful warrior,  who  had  returned  home  in  triumph  but 
to  die,  gave  full  vent  to  the  anguish  of  a  mother's 
he£Lrt.  How  much  does  this  custom  of  the  Indian 
women,  of  repairing  to  the  hill  tops  in  the  night, 
and  pouring  forth  their  wailings  for  the  dead,  call 
to  mind  the  beautiful  and  affecting  passage  of 
scripture,  *  In  Rama  was  there  a  voice  hezird,  la- 
mentation, and  weeping,  and  great  mourning ;  Ra- 
chel weeping  for  her  children,  and  would  not  be 
comforted,  because  they  are  not.' " 

Big  White  made  a  long  speech  to  his  people,  in 
which  he  spoke  in  eloquent  terms  of  the  kindness 
with  which  he  was  received  by  the  whites.  He 
also  alluded  to  the  riches,  number,  and  great 
Btrength  of  our  people,  and  urged  upon  them  not 
only  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a  constant  peace 
with  us,  but  the  advantages  that  they  would  expe- 
rience from  the  existence  of  very  friendly  relations 
between  them  and  the  whites.    **  Brothers,"  said 


THE     LOST    TRAPPERS  85 

he,  "  do  you  see  yon  prairie  (pointing  at  the  same 
time  to  a  prairie  several  miles  wide);  the  white 
man  has  a  gun  that  will  kill  Indians  across  that 
prairie. "  He  had  reference  to  the  cannon  that  he 
had  seen  when  in  the  states. 

An  important  point  in  the  expedition  being  at- 
tained, and  a  long  and  perilous  journey  having 
brought  our  little  party  to  the  Mandan  country, 
they  once  more  felt  themselves  in  a  land  of  com- 
parative safety,  and  among  friends,  not  the  less 
friendly  because  they  were  savages.  They  were 
now  at  liberty  to  relax  themselves  from  that  in- 
tense vigilance  necessary  to  be  practiced  in  a 
country  full  of  danger,  and  to  give  to  themselves 
and  their  way-worn  horses  that  repose  which  they 
so  much  needed.  A  wefek,  however,  had  not  passed 
away,  before  Captain  Williams'  men  manifested  a 
restless  spirit,  and  were  anxious  again  to  launch 
into  the  boundless  wilderness,  the  great  terra  iiwog- 
niia  that  was  before  them.  A  recollection  of  their 
past  good  fortune  greatly  animated  them,  whilst 
they  were  stimulated  by  the  prospects  that  were 
before  them.  They  fancied  that  all  danger  was 
behind  them,  in  the  land  of  the  piratical  Sioux, 
through  which  they  had  passed  without  difficulty. 
But  it  was  only  fancy  ;  delusive  fancy.  Little  did 
they  know  of  the  dangers  before  them,  and  the  un- 
expected and  formidable  foes  that  infested  the 
country  they  were  approaching.  Little  did  they 
dream  of  the  unhappy  fate  that  awaited  the  greater 
part  of  their  party.  When  they  left  the  Mandan 
ootintry,  a  few  day's  travel  brought  them  to  th« 


66  THE     LOST     TBAPPERS. 

ccmntry  over  which  roves  and  prowls  the  ferocicn* 
Black-feet  Indians,  then  as  well  as  now  one  of  the 
most  cnel  and  relentless  tribes  of  the  far  west. 
For  the  Block -feet  Indian  is  an  embodiment  of 
every  quality'  that  is  offensive  to  the  feelings  of 
civilized  man.  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  passing 
through  their  country,  killed  one  of  their  tribe, 
which  act  created  an  implacable  hatred  for  the 
whites  from  that  day  till  this.  Of  the  hostility  of 
this  tribe  to  the  whites,  on  this  account,  Captain 
Williams'  men  were  not  apprized,  and  were  not 
expecting  to  meet  with  a  foe  writhing  under  the 
recollection  of  past  injuries,  and  who  had  sworn 
destruction  to  every  white  man  that  should  venture 
to  put  his  foot  upon  their  territory. 

We  would  state  that  it  was  the  object  of  captain 
Williams  and  his  party,  to  spend  the  approaching 
fall  and  winter  on  those  upper  rivers,  trapping  for 
beaver,  until  spring,  when  they  intended  to  push 
their  way  into  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  carry  on 
their  trapping  operations,  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Columbia.  It  was  also  a  very  praiseworthy  object 
of  the  expedition  to  find  a  more  practicable  pzisa 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  than  tiie  route  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke.  Such  a  pass,  it  was  believed, 
could  be  found,  south  of  the  sources  of  the  Missouri. 
When,  therefore,  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone,  they  turned  in  a  southwest  direction, 
following  the  meanderings  of  the  river  last  named. 
Up  the  Yellow  Stone  they  journeyed  for  several 
days,  looking  for  a  region  where  beaver  were  very 
afavmdant.     Such  a  region  they  soon  found,  and  tha 


THE     LOST     TRAFPEftS.  87 

traps  of  the  company  were  all  as  soon  scattered  up 
and  down  every  little  mountain  brook  and  branch 
for  several  miles  around.  In  the  meantime,  whilst 
some  were  constructing  a  temporary  camp  and 
fortress,  others  were  beating  up  and  down  the  ad- 
jacent hills  and  hollows  in  the  pursuit  of  game 
They  were  now  in  a  perfect  Elysium.  Buffalo,  elk, 
antelope,  white  and  black-tail  deer,  ah-sah-tUy  or 
big  horn,  could  be  seen  every  day ;  and  the  innumer- 
able little  rills  around  abounded  with  fish  of  the 
finest  flavor.  In  the  way  of  trapping,  the  men  had 
a  great  run  of  good  luck,  for  every  morning,  nearly 
every  trap  in  the  neighborhood,  was  found  holding 
in  its  iron  jaws  a  fine  beaver.  These  were  the  em- 
ployments and  enjoyments  which  the  party  had 
long  craved,  and  they  now  had  them  in  the  greatest 
exuberance.  Prom  day  to  day,  the  men  were  va- 
riously engaged  in  trapping,  and  skinning  beaver, 
fishing  and  hunting,  eating,  laughing  and  jesting. 
Their  horses  also  were  recovering  very  fast  from 
the  effects  of  the  long  journey  they  had  performed, 
and  were  fattening.  Their  feet  and  backs  were 
getting  well  and  sound  again,  and  they  were  soon 
in  fine  plight.  The  party  had  seen  no  signs  of  In- 
dians to  excite  any  apprehensions  of  danger,  until, 
one  morning,  one  of  the  men  discovered  that  an  In- 
dian had  been  caught  in  a  trap,  from  which  how- 
ever, he  had  succeeded  in  extricating  himself,  as  it 
was  found  near  the  place  where  it  had  been  set. 
It  would  seem  that  the  savage  was  not  disposed  to 
carry  it  off*,  but  was  satisfied  to  be  rid  of  a  thing 
that,  for  a  short  time,  at  least,  had  held  him  ia 


68  THCLOSTTRAFPEBS. 

paluful  custody.  He  no  doubt,  was  of  the  Blacft- 
feet  tribe,  and  had  been  sent  as  a  scout  to  pry 
into  the  condition  of  Captain  Williams'  camp,  and 
report  the  same  to  his  people,  as  another  and 
very  melancholy  event  which  we  will  record,  will 
prove.  A  day  or  two  after  this  Indian  was  taken 
in  a  trap,  some  of  the  men,  about  ten,  left  the  camp 
on  a  Vxiffalo  hunt.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
chase,  ihe  buffalo  were  not  more  than  a  mile  fi-om 
the  camp,  but  they  were  pursued  for  three  or  four 
miles,  which  led  the  men  into  danger.  A  company 
of  Black-feet,  numbering  at  least  one  hundred,  sud- 
denly appi  ared  on  horses  from  behind  a  covert  of 
trees  and  undergrowth,  and  dashed  toward  the  men 
as  they  were  scattered  over  a  plain  pursuing  and 
shooting  the  buffalo.  Five  of  the  men  being  on 
fast  horses,  and  flying  at  the  top  of  their  speed,  were 
able  to  effect  their  escape,  but  the  others  were  in- 
tercepted b}^  the  savages,  and  their  escape  to  the 
camp  cut  off.  They  fell  an  easy  prey  into  their 
hands,  and  were  in  all  probability  the  first  whites 
that  were  killed  by  that  tribe,  and  killed,  too,  to  ap- 
pease the  vengeance  awakened  against  the  whites 
by  the  act  of  Lewis  and  Clarke.  The  five  men  who 
made  their  escape,  were  pursued  within  the  half  of 
a  mile  from  the  camp  by  several  of  the  Black-feet. 
One  of  these  savages  manifested  a  disposition  to 
follow  the  men  into  the  very  camp  of  our  little 
party,  afler  the  others  had  wheeled  their  horses  and 
were  returning  to  the  main  body  of  their  party. 
Bat  he  paid  dearly  for  his  rashness.  One  of  the 
neB,  whose  gun  haj{)ene^  to  be  loaded, stopped  his 


THE    LOST    TRAPPBKS.  80 

horse,  and  sent  a  ball  whizzing  through  his  body 
which  caused  him  to  tumble  from  his  horse,  dead. 

The  loss  of  five  men,  sustained  by  a  party  num- 
bering only  twenty  at  first ;  the  killing  of  one  of 
their  band,  which  would  rouse  the  vengeful  feel- 
ings of  those  savages  to  a  still  greater  pitch,  and 
the  fact  that  so  large  a  party  of  those  ruthless 
marauders  was  in  their  immediate  vicinity,  made 
the  situation  of  Captain  Williams  and  his  now  re- 
duced party  very  critical  and  hazardous  indeed.  A 
consultation  was  immediately  held,  and  they  deter- 
mined to  leave  that  night,  as  it  would  be  very  un 
safe  to  remain  there.  Indeed  they  expected  every 
moment  to  see  the  whole  body  of  the  Black-feet 
coming  upon  them,  especially  if  they  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  size  of  their  little  party ;  but  if 
they  did  not  know  the  strength  of  Captain  Wil 
liams'  party  they  would  be  more  cautious,  as  Indi- 
a.ns  rarely  run  dangerous  risks  They  were,  how- 
ever, now  certain  of  one  thing,  and  that  was,  theji 
had  been  watched  by  the  scouts  of  the  Black-feet 
for  several  days,  as  they  had  observed  something 
several  times  on  the  summit  of  an  acjacent  moun- 
tain, among  the  rocks,  peering  the  country  below, 
which  they  had  supposed  was  wolves,  but  which 
was  most  probably  Indians,  examining  their  loca- 
tion, and  endeavoring  to  ascertain  their  strength. 

The  melancholy  event  that  we  have  just  detailed 
took  place  in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  so  that  it 
was  not  long  before  the  little  party  of  Captain 
Williams  was  under  the  covert  of  night.  All  tlie 
horses  were  brought  in  when  the  alarm  was  first 
8 


90  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

given.  When  night  came  on,  all  hands  were  oruiy 
collecting  their  traps  and  making  ready  for  theij 
departure  that  night  as  soon  as  possible.  Large 
and  numerous  fires  were  made  to  deceive  the  en- 
emy, from  which  the  men  withdrew  at  least  a  mile 
where  they  remained  until  they  were  ready  to  set 
ofi*.  About  midnight  they  leaped  into  their  saddles 
and  set  out  south.  They  traveled  as  fast  as  they 
could  for  twenty-four  hours,  without  giving  repose 
to  themselves  or  horses.  Their  journal  states  that 
they  soon  reached  the  country  of  the  Crow  Indians, 
who  were  very  friendly  to  the  whites  at  that  time. 
At  one  of  the  villages  of  these  Indians  they  re- 
mained about  a  week,  during  which  time  they  took 
a  bufialo  hunt;  but  as  they  desired  to  reach  a 
country  where  beaver  were  more  abundant  than  in 
that  of  the  Crows,  they  continued  to  travel  south, 
under  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  until 
they  came  to  the  sources  of  the  Platte.  This  route 
the  Crows  informed  them,  was  greatly  to  be  prt 
ferred  if  they  mshed  to  penetrate  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  beaver  were  very  abundant. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  by  stating  that 
one  of  Captain  Williams'  men,  whpse  name  was 
Rose,  expressed  his  intention  to  abandon  his  party 
and  remain  among  the  Crows.  It  appears  that 
whilst  the  men  were  in  the  Crow  village.  Rose  was 
not  able  to  resist  the  ch£irms  of  a  certain  Crow 
beauty,  whom  he  afterwards  selected  as  his  wife 
*nd  with  whom  he  lived  for  several  years.     Wo 

irill  give  some  account  of  this  man  Rose  in  the 
next  cKipter,  as  he  was  an  egregious  character  in 

the  history  of  those  tim 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AoM,  the  scapegoat  refugee — The  Crow  Indians,  and  a  Crow**  dm 
cription  of  their  country. 

The  character  of  Rose  was  not  known  to  Cap- 
tain Williams  when  he  joined  his  party.  "  This 
fellow,  it  appears,  was  one  of  those  desperadoes 
of  the  frontiers,  outlawed  by  their  crimes,  who 
combing  the  vices  of  civilized  and  savage  life,  and 
are  ten  times  as  bad  as  the  Indians;  with  whom 
they  consort.  Rose  had  formerly  belonged  to  one  of 
the  gangs  of  pirates  who  infested  the  islands  of  the 
Mississippi,  plundering  boats  as  they  went  up  and 
down  the  river,  and  who  sometimes  shifted  the 
scene  of  their  robberies  to  the  shore,  waylaying 
travelers  as  they  returned  by  land  from  New  Or- 
leans, with  the  proceeds  of  their  do  vnward  voy- 
age ;  plimdering  them  of  their  money  and  effects, 
and  often  perpetrating  the  most  atrocious  murders." 

These  hordes  of  villains  being  broken  up  and 
dispersed.  Rose  betook  himself  to  the  upper  wil- 
derness, and  when  Captain  Williams  was  forming 
his  company  at  St.  Louis,  this  fellow  came  forward 
and  offered  his  services.  Captain  Williams  ob- 
served that  he  had  a  sinister  look,  and  suspected 
that  his  character  was  not  too  fair,  but  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  get  men  to  join  an  expedition  so  daring  and 

(91) 


99  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS. 

full  of  danger.  He  was  dropped  among  the  Orowa 
(or  Upsarokas,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,)  a 
race  of  savages  whose  habitudes  of  life  were  much 
more  congenial  to  the  feelings  of  such  a  man  as 
Rose  than  the  restraints  of  civilized  life.  He  took 
several  of  their  women  as  wives,  by  whom  he  had 
children,  and  became  a  great  man  among  them. 
As  he  lived  among  the  Crows  several  years,  he 
could  speak  their  language  very  fluently,  and  had 
a  very  general  knowledge  of  the  extensive  country 
ranged  by  these  Indians.  In  the  year  1810  or  11 
he  was  picked  up  somewhere  on  the  Missouri,  b^ 
Mr.  Hunt,  who  was  at  that  time  on  an  expedition 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains.  From  his  knowledge 
of  the  Crow  country  and  the  Crow  language,  and 
from  the  fact  of  his  affiliation  with  that  tribe,  Mr. 
Hunt  thought  he  might  be  of  great  service  to  him 
whilst  passing  through  their  country,  and  in  any 
intercourse  he  might  have  with  them.  Rose  was 
therefore  engaged  as  guide  and  interpreter  when 
Himt's  party  should  reach  the  country  of  the  Crows. 
He  had  been  attached  to  this  party  but  a  few 
days  before  he  began  to  exhibit  his  dark  and  per- 
fidious spirit,  by  tampering  with  the  fidelity  of  cer- 
tain of  the  men,  and  suggesting  to  them  a  design 
he  had  been  concocting  in  his  own  mind,  in  which 
he  wished  them  to  co-operate  with  him.  The  plan 
of  this  treacherous  scoundrel  was,  that  several  of 
the  men  should  join  with  him,  when  in  the  Crow 
country,  in  deserting  to  those  Indians,  taking  with 
them  as  many  horses  and  goods  as  they  could.  H« 
assured  the  men  of  the  kindest  reception  among 


TBI     LOST    TRAPPERS.  V3 

the  Crows,  with  whose  principal  chief  he  was  well 
acquainted,  and  tempted  them  by  artful  stories  of 
the  honors  and  privileges  they  would  enjoy.  They 
could  have  the  handsomest  women  and  the  daugh 
ters  of  the  chiefs  for  Avives,  and  as  many  as  they 
pleased.  This  plan,  too,  would  set  them  up  for 
life.  When  the  treachery  of  this  vagabond  became 
generally  known,  it  created  much  anxiety  in  the 
breasts  of  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  friends,  as  they  were 
sensible  that  he  might  do  them  much  mischief,  as 
he  could  succeed  in  carrying  out  his  nefarious  de- 
signs if  he  could  seduce  some  of  the  men  to  co-op- 
erate with  him.  An  affair  of  this  kind  might  be 
ruinous  to  the  expedition.  To  divert  the  mind  of 
Rose  from  his  wicked  thoughts,  and  to  tempt  him 
to  give  up  his  perfidious  purposes,  Mr.  Hunt  treated 
him  with  great  attention  and  kindness.  He  told 
him  that  in  parting  with  him  in  the  Crow  country, 
he  would  pay  him  half  a  year's  wages  in  consid- 
eration of  his  past  services,  and  would  give  him  a 
iorse,  three  beaver  traps,  and  sundry  other  articles 
calculated  to  set  him  up  in  the  world. 

This  liberal  proposition  had  the  desired  effect,  and 
from  that  time  the  whole  deportment  of  Rose  under- 
went a  change.  He  was  no  longer  that  surly,  sul- 
len, silent,  designing  fellow.  Ever  after  he  was 
cheerful,  and  seemed  honestly  to  desire  the  success 
of  the  expedition.  Still  it  was  the  fixed  purpose  of 
some  of  Hunt's  party,  that  if  Rose  showed  the  least 
inclination  to  carry  out  his  knavish  designs,  to  shoot 
the  desperado  o  i  the  spot.  Whilst  among  the 
Crows,  however    Rose  exhibited  no  bad  feelingi 


94  TBI     LOST    TRArrilf. 

towards  the  party,  and  when  they  took  their  leav« 
of  those  savages,  Mr.  Hunt  consigned  him  to  their 
cherishing  friendship  and  fraternal  adoption  as  their 
worthy  and  old  confederate. 

"  Rose  was  powerful  in  frame  and  fearless  in 
spirit,  and  very  soon  by  his  daring  deeds,  took  his 
rank  among  the  first  braves  of  the  tribe."  Nothing 
but  daring  deeds  and  desperate  exploits  in  the  esti- 
mation of  an  Indian,  will  make  a  brave.  In  re- 
peated actions  of  the  Crows  with  the  Black-feet, 
Rose  won  many  laurels.  On  one  occasion,  it  is 
said,  "  a  band  of  those  savages  had  fortified  them- 
selves within  abreastwork  and  could  not  be  harmed. 
Rose  proposed  to  storm  the  work.  *  Who  will  take 
the  lead,'  was  the  demand.  *  I,'  cried  he,  and  put- 
ting himself  at  their  head  rushed  forward.  The 
first  Black- foot  that  opposed  him,  he  shot  down  with 
his  rifle,  and  snatching  up  the  war-club  of  his  vic- 
tim, killed  four  others  \\'ithin  the  fort.  This  victory 
was  complete,  and  Rose  returned  to  the  Crow  vil- 
lage covered  with  glory,  and  bearing  five  Black-foot 
scalps,  to  be  erected  as  a  trophy  before  his  lodge. 
From  this  time  he  weis  known  among  the  Crows,  by 
the  name  of  Che-ku-kaats,  or  *  the  man  who  killed 
five.' "  The  Crows  and  Black-feet  have  always  been 
the  most  implacable  and  deadly  foes ;  this  daring 
deed  of  Rose,  therefore,  would  naturally  make  him 
a  popular  idol  of  the  village .  But  Indians,  like  white 
people,  are  invidious  beings.  The  popularity  of 
Rose  awakened  the  en\'y  of  the  native  braves.  He 
was  a  white  man,  and  interloper.  Two  rival  partie* 
sprung  up,between  whom  there  were  feuds  and  civil 


THE     LOST    TRArPERS.  9ft 

wars  that  lasted  for  two  or  three  years,  until  Rotre 
having  contrived  to  set  his  adopted  brethren  b^ 
the  ears,  left  them  and  went  down  the  Missouri,  ia 
1823.  He  afterwards  enlisted  as  guide  and  inter- 
pret3r^  for  Fitzpatrick  and  Sublette,  who  conducted 
a  trapping  expedition,  sent  by  General  Ashly  across 
the  mount£iins.  When  they  got  among  the  Crows, 
he  was  able  to  some  extent  to  revive  his  popularity, 
by  being  very  liberal  and  kind  among  his  old  ac- 
quaintances, at  the  expense,  however,  of  the  expe- 
dition. This  company  was  robbed  of  their  horses, 
when  in  the  Green  river  valley,  and  it  was  believed 
that  this  man  Rose  had  a  hand  in  the  matter. 
When  General  Atkinson  went  up  the  Missouri  in 
1825,  he  met  with  Rose  among  the  Crows,  who  as 
usual,  was  a  personage  of  much  consequence  among 
them.  He  is  represented  as  suppressing  a  chance- 
medley  fight,  that  was  on  the  point  of  taking  place 
between  the  military  of  General  Atkinson  and  those 
savages.  It  appears  the  Crows  contrived  to  stop 
the  touch-holes  of  the  field  pieces  of  the  expedition 
with  dirt,  and  then  became  very  insolent.  A  tumult 
arose,  and  blows  began  to  be  dealt  out.  As  the 
Crows  were  evidently  in  the  fault.  Rose  grasped  hia 
fusee  and  broke  the  stock  of  it  over  the  head  of  a 
brave,  and  laid  so  vigorously  about  with  the  barrel 
that  he  soon  put  the  whole  throng  to  flight.  Here 
the  afiair  ended.  Of  the  subsequent  history  of  this 
voluntary  exiie  from  civilized  life,  but  little  is  cer- 
tainly known.  Some  reports  say  that  he  died  of  a 
disease  brought  on  by  his  licentious  life ;  and  others 
state  that  he  was  killed  by  some  of  his  adopted 


06  THE     LOST    TRAPPEKS. 

brethren,  the  Crows.  He  is  said  to  have  taught 
the  Crows  the  policy  of  cultivating  the  friendship 
of  the  white  men.  A  policy,  which  they  still  observe 
to  some  extent,  since  the  death  of  Rose.  "If  we 
keep  friends  with  the  white  men,  said  one  of 
their  chiefs,  we  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Black- 
feet,  and  can  rule  the  mountains."  So  much  about 
RoB3,the  heroic  vagabond  and  renegado. 

Whilst  we  are  with  Captain  Williams,  among 
the  Crows,  we  will  state  a  few  things  about  those 
savages,  and  the  country  over  which  they  range 
The  Crows  are  to  be  found  on  the  west  of  the  Mis- 
Bouri,  and  on  and  along  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  although  they  often  cross  the  Mountains 
on  their  predatory  excursions,  which  they  are  con- 
stantly making.  They  perhaps  excel  all  tribes  of 
the  west  in  their  roving,  wandering  habits,  and 
horse-stealing  propensities.  They  not  only  scour 
the  country  east  of  the  Rocky  Mount£iins  for  eev- 
eral  hundred  hundred  miles,  but  they  are  often  on 
the  wing  along  the  head  waters  of  the  Columbia, 
carrying  on  their  plundering  and  horse-stealing 
operations.  The  horse  is  the  idol  of  the  Crow  In- 
dians, and  their  skill  and  audacity  in  stealing  this 
animal  is  said  to  be  astonishing.  It  is  the  business 
of  their  lives,  and  their  glory  and  delight.  An  ac- 
complished horse-stesder  fills  up  their  idea  of  a 
hero.  They  are  called  Crows,  because  they  are  al- 
ways on  the  scamper  and  the  foray,  and  like  the 
bird  of  the  sajne  name,  winging  their  roguish  flight 
from  one  region  to  another,  A  Rocky  Mountain 
trapper,  with  whom  I  met  on  the  frontier  of  Mia- 


TM>    LOIT    TBAPPBIS,  Wl 

loori,  and  who  had  spent  several  years  as  a  &•# 
trapper  in  the  Black  Hills  and  Rocky  Mountains) 
told  me  that  he  once  accompanied  a  party  of 
Crows  across  the  mountains,  whose  object  was  to 
steal  horses.  It  was  at  a  time  of  the  year  when 
trapping  is  suspended  (June,  July  and  August.)  He 
had  nothing  to  do,  and  therefore  accompanied  this 
party  merely  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the  country 
and  witnessing  their  mode  of  operating  in  their  fa- 
vorite employment.  They  were  gone  about  eight 
weeks,  and  returned  with  eighty  horses.  My  infor- 
mant thought  they  were  generally  taken  from  the 
lower  Nez  Perces,  and  also  the  white  settlers  on 
the  waters  of  the  Columbia.  They  performed  this 
trip,  stole  this  number  of  horses,  and  returned,  and 
such  was  their  adroitness  and  skill,  that  they  did 
not  meet  with  a  single  difficulty.  The  Crows  were 
once  a  numerous  and  powerful  tribe  of  Indians, 
but  their  constant  wars  with  the  Black-feet,  and 
their  roving  and  predatory  habits,  are  wearing  them 
away  very  fast.  They  seem  doomed  to  that  ten- 
dency to  extinction  which  is  to  be  seen  among  all 
the  western  tribes. 

I  will  take  the  privilege  of  giving  a  very  inter- 
esting account  of  the  Crow  country,  which  is  to  be 
found  in  Captain  Bonneville's  notes,  prepared  for 
publication  by  Irvkig.  It  is  a  description  of  the 
Crow  country,  given  by  a  Crow  chief,  Arapooish,  to 
Mr.  Robert  Campbell,  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company :  **  The  Crow  country,"  said  he,  •*  is  a 
good  country.  The  Great  Spirit  has  put  it  exactly 
la  the  right  place  ;  while  you  are  in  it,  you  fart 
9 


N  THE     LOST    TRAPPBRI. 

well ;  whenever  you  go  out  of  it,  which  ever  waj 
you  travel,  you  will  fare  worse. 

"  If  you  go  to  the  south,  there  you  have  to  wan- 
der over  great  barren  plains ;  the  water  is  warm 
and  bad,  and  you  meet  the  fever  and  ague. 

**  To  the  north  it  is  cold  ;  the  winters  arc  long 
and  bitter,  with  no  grass  ;  you  cannot  keep  horeet 
there,  but  must  travel  with  dogs.  What  is  a  coun 
try  without  horses  ! 

"  On  the  Columbia  they  are  poor  and  dirty,  pad- 
dle about  in  canoes,  and  eat  fish.  Their  teeth  are 
worn  out ;  they  are  always  taking  fish-bones  out 
of  their  mouths      Fish  is  poor  food. 

"To  the  east  they  dwell  in  villages ;  they  live 
well ;  but  they  drink  the  muddy  water  of  the  Mis- 
Bouri — that  is  bad.  A  Crow's  dog  would  not  drink 
such  water. 

"  About  the  forks  of  the  Missouri  is  a  fine  coun- 
try ;  good  water,  good  grass,  plenty  of  buflfalo.  In 
summer  it  is  almost  as  good  as  the  Crow  country ; 
but  in  winter  it  is  cold,  the  grass  is  gone,  and  there 
is  no  salt  weed  for  the  horses. 

**  The  Crow  country  is  exactly  in  the  right  place. 
It  has  snowy  mountains  and  sunny  plains ;  all 
kinds  of  climate,  and  good  things  for  every  season. 
When  the  sununer  heats  scorch  the  prairies,  you 
can  draw  up  under  the  mountains,  where  the  air  ii 
sweet  and  cool,  the  grass  fresh,  and  the  bright 
streams  come  tumbling  out  of  the  snow  banks. 

"  There  you  can  hunt  the  elk,  the  deer,  and  ths 
antelope,  when  their  skins   are  fit  for  dressing 


THB    LOST     TBAPrESI.  9% 

there  you  will  find  plenty  of  white  bears  and 
mountain  sheep. 

"  In  the  autumn,  when  your  horses  are  fat  and 
strong  from  the  mountain  pastures,  you  can  go 
down  into  the  plains  and  hunt  the  buffalo,  or  trap 
beaver  on  the  streams.  And  when  winter  comes 
on,  you  can  take  shelter  in  the  woody  bottoms, 
along  the  rivers  ;  there  you  will  find  buffalo  meat 
for  yourselves,  and  cotton-wood  bark  for  your 
horses ;  or  you  may  winter  in  the  Wind  river  val- 
ley, where  there  is  salt  weed  in  abundance. 

"  The  Crow  country  is  exactly  in  the  right  place. 
Every  thing  good  is  to  be  found  there.  There  ii 
no  country  like  the  Crow  country," 

Such  is  the  eulogium  on  his  country  by  Arapooish 


CHAPTER    X 

^otL^  disaster  befalls  the  party — All  the  horses  are  stolen— A  figbl 
with  tae  Indians — Five  more  of  the  party  killed,  and  nineteen  sa^-agei 
killed  and  mortally  wounded — The  party  cache  their  fors,  et<%,  and 
leaTe  the  country — They  reach  the  Arkansas — Their  trapping  opera 
tions  there — All  killed  but  Captain  Williams  and  two  others. 

Whilst  journeying  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Platte,  Captain  Williams'  party  met  with  another 
disaster.  One  morning  seven  of  the  men,  includ- 
ing Captain  Williams,  went  to  bring  in  the  horses, 
which  had  been  turned  out  to  graze  the  previous 
evening.  As  they  were  still  in  the  country  of  the 
Crows,  whom  they  regarded  as  their  friends,  they 
had  not  exercised  the  usual  precaution  of  bringing 
in  their  horses  and  carefully  securing  them  for  the 
night.  They  simply  fastened  two  of  their  feet  to- 
gether, to  prevent  them  from  wandering  too  far, 
and  then  turned  them  out,  whilst  they  retired  a 
short  distance,  into  the  edge  of  some  timber,  and 
stretched  themselves  out  upon  their  buffalo  skins 
for  the  night.  The  next  morning  the  horses  were 
missing ;  but  their  trace  in  the  deep,  dewy  grass 
was  soon  discovered,  very  fresh,  and  leading  across 
a  low  ridge  in  the  prairie.  The  men  in  pursuit  of 
the  horses  soon  found  some  of  the  cords  by  which 
they  had  been  tied.     They  were  not  broken  by  the 

(100) 


THB    LOST    TRAPPERS.  101 

horses,  but  had  evidently  been  taken  oflf,  a  circum- 
stance that  filled  their  minds  with  painful  anxiety 
But  they  continued  to  follow  the  trace  to  the  top 
of  the  ridge,  from  which  they  were  suddenly  struck 
with  the  sight  of  about  sixty  Indians  at  the  base 
of  the  hill,  in  possession  of  their  horses.  They 
seemed  very  busy,  preparing,  no  doubt,  to  make  an 
attack  upon  the  party  ;  for  when  they  observed  the 
men  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  they  sprang  upon  their 
horses  and  dashed  up  the  hill  toward  them,  at  the 
same  time  making  every  thing  ring  with  their  ter- 
rific and  hideous  yells.  Captain  Williams  urged 
his  men  to  escape  to  the  timber,  but  before  thej 
could  reach  it,  ^\e  of  them  were  overtaken  and 
killed.  Captain  Williams  and  another  of  the  seven 
succeeded,  though  very  closely  pursued,  in  gaining 
the  timber.  The  other  men  that  had  remained  in 
the  camp,  seeing  the  savages  coming,  had  snatched 
up  their  rifles,  and,  each  one  taking  a  tree,  they 
opened  a  fire  upon  them  that  caused  them  to  wheel 
and  withdraw  a  short  distance,  leaving  several  of 
their  men  upon  the  ground  dead  and  wounded.  In 
a  few  minutes  the  savages  dashed  up  again,  shout- 
ing, and  yelling,  and  launching  their  arrows  in  the 
timber.  There  was.  a  dense  undergrowth,  that  not 
only  prevented  them  from  riding  into  the  timber,  but 
also  prevented  them  from  seeing  Captain  Williams' 
men.  This  was  a  lucky  circumstance,  and  but  for 
it  they  would  all  have  been  cut  off.  Captain  Wil- 
liams told  his  men  to  talte  good  aim,  and  not  to 
fire  until  they  were  certain  of  making  an  effectual 
shot.     By  obsv^rvin^  this  plan,  and  reserving  theii 


203  TBB    LOST    TKAPPIftS. 

■hota  until  the  savages  would  come  to  the  very 
edge  of  the  timber,  the  sharp  report  of  each  rifle 
was  tdways  followed  by  the  tumbling  of  an  Indian 
from  his  horse.  For  four  successive  times  did  these 
Bav£iges  dash  up  to  the  timber,  launch  their  arrows 
and  then  wheel  and  withdraw  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  rifles  of  Captain  Williams'  men.  Being  una- 
ble to  dislodge  our  little  band,  and  having  sustained 
a  great,  loss  of  men,  the  Indians  abandoned  the 
field  of  battle,  and  rode  off. 

As  a  scalp  is  a  great  and  favorite  trophy  wdth  an 
Indian,  these  savages  did  not  neglect  to  carry  ofi* 
with  them  the  scalps  of  the  five  men  they  had  killed. 
They  also  took  with  them  two  or  three  (it  was 
thought)  of  their  wounded,  but  left  nineteen  on  the 
ground.  The  party  remained  behind  their  fortress 
of  trees  and  thick  undergrowth,  whilst  one  of  the 
men  went  out  to  reconnoitre  the  motions  of  the 
savages.  He  returned,  reporting  that  he  had  seen 
them  at  least  three  miles  off,  going  at  a  brisk  gait. 

Captain  Williams  saw  his  party  now  reduced  to 
ten,  without  a  single  horse  to  carry  their  accoutre- 
ments, and  what  could  they  do  in  a  country  full  of 
■avages,  on  foot  ?  It  was  probable  that  these  same 
savages,  knowing  the  almost  helpless  condition  of 
the  little  party,  and  infuriated  by  the  slaughter  of 
80  many  of  their  men,  would  hurry  off  to  the  main 
body  of  their  tribe,  and  return  with  increased  forces 
to  do  a  work  of  total  destruction.  There  was  there- 
fore no  time  to  be  lost.  The  company  gathered  up 
their  furs  and  as  many  traps  as  the  ten  could  cany, 
and  traveled  about  ten  miles,  keeping  close  ta  th« 


THB    LOST    TRAPPBIS.  108 

timber.  They  avoided  as  well  as  they  could  mak- 
ing any  trace  by  which  they  might  be  pursued 
When  night  came  on,  they  crept  into  a  very  dense 
thicket,  where  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  the 
night,  in  erecting  a  scaffold,  upon  which  they  cached 
their  furs  and  traps  and  such  things  as  they  found 
inconvenient  to  carry. 

Captain  Williams  did  not  know  to  what  tribe  of 
Indians  the  band  belonged  that  attacked  his  party. 
They  were,  in  all  probability,  Crows,  and  perhaps 
from  the  xery  village  in  which  our  little  party  had 
spent  several  days  ;  although  they  professed  great 
friendship  for  the  whites.  This  conjecture  is  the 
more  plausible,  when  we  remember,  that  the  friend- 
ship of  those  savages  is  about  as  uncertain  as  their 
locality,  and  the  consciences  of  these  notorious 
horse-thieves  would  not  let  them  rest  very  easy,  if 
they  should  suffer  such  a  cavalcade  to  pass  through 
their  country  without,  at  least,  an  effort  on  their  part 
to  steal  their  horses.  The  part}^,  however,  did  not 
suspect  the  Crows,  as  they  supposed  they  were  out 
of  the  Crow  country,  and  on  the  Arkansas  river ;  a 
supposition,  however,  that  proved  to  be  erroneous, 
as  they  were  still  in  the  country  of  those  treacher- 
ous, crafty,  roving  free  hooters,  and  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Platte. 

As  the  prospects  of  the  company  were  now 
gloomy  in  the  extreme,  the  spirits  of  the  men 
drooped,  and  their  hearts  became  sad.  They  were 
many  hundred  miles  from  the  abodes  of  civilized 
life,  in  the  heart  of  a  wilderness  almost  boundless, 
where  they  found  themselves  beset  on  every  side 


104  THE     LOST    TRAfPEES. 

with  larking  savages,  ready,  at  a  suitable  opporta- 
nity,  to  pounce  upon  them  and  make  them  their 
easy  prey.  They  were  now  without  horses,  and 
their  number  was  so  reduced  they  could  scarcely 
indulge  a  hope  of  escaping  the  cruel  hands  of  the 
natives.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  they 
were  compelled  to  abandon  their  intentions  of 
crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  trapping  on  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia.  But  Captain  Williams 
who  is  represented  by  one  who  knew  him  well, 
"  as  brave  and  cautious,  and  the  best  and  most 
feeling  companion  in  the  world,"  in  all  his  difficul- 
ties, wore  a  serene  and  cheerful  countenance,  and 
encouraged  his  men  not  to  give  up  the  hope  of  yet 
succeeding  in  their  trapping  enterprise.  Should 
they  succeed,  they  would  not  only  be  independent, 
but  rich  for  life.  They  left  this  region  of  danger, 
and  the  following  spring  found  them  on  the  sources 
of  the  Arkansas,  where  they  encamped,  as  beaver 
were  very  abundant,  and  there  was  a  prospect  of 
their  gathering  in  a  large  harvest  of  rich  peltries. 
The  very  succinct  and  imperfect  and  much  muti- 
lated journal  before  me  states  that  the  party  scat- 
tered about  on  the  various  little  streams  that  put 
into  the  Arkansas,  and  that  one  after  another  was 
cut  off  by  a  fierce  tribe  of  Indians  called  the  Ca- 
manches,  until  but  three  of  the  party  remained, 
Captain  Williams  and  two  others,  whose  namet 
were  James  Workman  and  Samuel  Spencer. — 
These  three  were  all  that  were  left  of  those  early 
adventxirers  in  the  fur  trade,  a  melancholy  fate  in 
deed,  that  verifies  the  assertion ''  that  of  the  kard> 


TBI    LOST    TKAPPBIS  lOi 

bands  of  trappers  that  first  entered  those  regions, 
three-fifths  have  fallen  by  the  hands  of  savage 
foes." 

Williams,  Workman  and  Spencer  now  deter- 
mined to  return,  if  they  could,  to  St.  Louis  But 
what  route  should  they  take  to  reach  there,  and 
where  were  they  ?  were  the  perplexing  questions 
that  sprung  up  in  the  anxious  minds  of  the  lost 
trappers.  Captain  Williams  thought,  from  the  dis- 
tance they  had  traveled,  they  were  on  the  Red  river, 
and  proposed  descending  it  in  canoes.  Workman 
and  Spencer  thought  they  were  not  far  from  Santa 
Fe,  in  New  Mexico,  and  proposed  going  there,  as 
the  only  way  they  could  adopt  to  avoid  being  killed 
by  the  savages.'  Strange  as  it  may  appesir,  anc/ 
dangerous  as  their  situation  was,  the  three  lost 
trappers  separated;  Workman  and  Spencer  stri- 
king out  towzurds  the  Spanish  country,  and  Captain 
Williams  descending,  as  he  supposed,  the  Red  river. 
Before  they  separated,  howeveir,  they  cached  all  their 
peltries,  and  such  traps  as  thejr  could  not  take  with 
them. 

As  it  is  our  object  to  give  a  faithful  and  full  ao- 
count  of  these  three  wandering  trappers,  subse- 
quent to  the  time  when  they  parted  in  a  region  of 
g^eat  danger,  we  will  furnish  the  reader  with  thai 
of  Captain  Williams  first 


CHAPTER  XI. 

•rt»©  foriorn  situation  of  the  three  trappers — Their  separation— Ignoranc* 
on  the  part  of  Indians  at  this  day  of  the  efficiency  of  eur  rifles — Great 
sacrifice  of  life — Policy  to  be  observed  in  fighting  Indians — Cache 
their  furs — Williams  holds  on  to  his  purpose — His  perplexities — Hin 
nastake — A  bull  bait — Travel  day  and  night — Vast  number  of  buffalo 
— A  bull  fight — Gangs  of  wild  horses — Contest  with  a  bear — Beavei 
tail  great  delicacy — Description  of  the  beaver,  and  mode  of  taking  hiia 
in  traps — Beaver  resembles  a  dog  ;  his  food — \A'ilhanis'  firmness- 
Three  Kansas  ;  their  treacherous  designs — Williams  runs  into  dangei> 
b  made  a  prisoner — Set  at  liberty  again,  but  loses  all  his  furs. 

We  have  already  alluded,  with  gi-eat  surprise,  to 
the  fact,  that  these  three  lost  trappers  should  have 
separated,  when  all  hope  of  regaining  their  homes 
depended  upon  their  remaining  together.  WTien 
their  party  was  now  reduced  to  three,  by  the  fero- 
city of  the  Ai-abs  of  the  West,  how  could  they  ex- 
pect to  escape  the  clutches  of  these  savages  ?  How 
could  two  men  expect  to  escape  !  How  could  one  ? 
Yet  startling  as  the  fact  may  be,  they  separated,  and 
separated  in  a  region  where  several  of  their  party 
had  been  killed,  a  region  full  of  danger  and  lurking 
foes.  We  would  state,  that  at  that  early  day,  our 
men  were  not  as  well  acquainted  as  they  are 
now,  with  the  modes  of  warfare  practised  by  the 
western  tribes ;  nor  were  those  tribes  as  well  ap 
pnsed  as  they  are  now,  of  the  efficiency  of  our  riflea 


THE    LOST    TRAPTBRS.  107 

rhe  melancholy  consequence  has  been,  as  already 
stated,  the  loss  of  three-fifths  at  least  of  those  early 
adventurers  into  those  regions,  and  the  killing  of  a 
great  many  savages.  Since,  hovtrever,  our  men  have 
gained  a  knowledge  of  the  vray  in  which  the  In- 
dians practice  their  hostilities,  and  especially  since 
the  various  tribes  have  ascertained  the  distance  and 
accuracr  with  which  our  rifles  shoot,  those  savages 
are  much  more  cautious,  and  the.  consequence  is, 
the  loss  of  life  on  either  side  has  not  been  so  great 
for  a  number  of  years.  Our  men,  too,  have  found 
it  to  be  good  policy  to  take  with  them  into  that 
country,  guns  that  carry  very  heavy  balls.  These 
are  better  for  killing  buffalo,  and  they  keep  off  hos- 
tile Indians,  at  a  greater  distance.  In  a  prairie 
country,  men  engaged  in  shooting  at  any  thing,  are 
apt  to  mistake  the  distance,  always  supposing  the 
object  nearer,  than  it  really  is.  Hence,  the  advan- 
tage in  having  guns  that  will  carry  up  for  several 
hundred  yards.  Indians  will  never  rush  upon  a  party 
of  white  men,  unless  they  know  their  guns  are 
empty,  or  when  they  may  have  some  other  advan- 
tage. "They  know,'*  said  a  free  trapper  of  great  in- 
ti'epidity,  "  that  the  crack  of  a  rifle  is  alvva3''3  followed 
by  the  loss  of  one  of  their  men."  They  therefore 
regard  the  rifles  of  our  men  as  very  dangerous 
things.  A  handful  of  men  behind  a  fortification  of 
aome  kind,  may  keep  off  a  hundi-ed  Indians. 
Their  guns,  (all  of  them)  should  not  be  empty  at  the 
same  time.  It  is  the  custom  of  experienced  men  to 
reserve  severed  shots,  or  in  other  words,  to  always 
keep  some  of  their  rifles  changed.     The  same  fre« 


108  TRB     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

trapper  informed  the  author,  "  that  in  several  dif 
ficulties  with  the  Black-feet,  two  other  trappen 
and  himself,  snugly  entrenched  behind  some  logs 
had  compelled  a  large  body  of  those  savages  tc 
leave  the  field  of  battle,  howling  and  whining  most 
mournfully  for  their  losses.  They  will  not  rush 
Dpon  a  loaded  rifle."  It  was  the  misfortune  of 
Captain  Williams'  men,  that  they  did  not  under- 
stand the  most  successful  and  the  safest  way  of 
fighting  those  savages,  and  the  results  were  the 
melancholy  events  we  have  detailed. 

Before  Williams,  Workman  and  Spencer  separa- 
ted, they  cached  the  skins  they  had  procured,  ex- 
pecting, if  they  should  be  fortunate  enough  to  reach 
the  abodes  of  civilization,  to  form  another  company 
and  return  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  their  pel- 
tries to  St.  Louis.  They  also  cached  all  their  traps, 
except  as  many  as  they  could  conveniently  CEirry. 
Workman  and  Spencer  could  take  none,  as  they  in- 
tended to  strike  across  the  water  courses  for  the 
Spanish  country.  Captain  Williams  was  able  to  take 
six  or  eight  traps,  as  he  constructed  a  canoe  in  which 
he  conveyed  them.  We  have  said  that  we  would 
follow  Captain  Williams  throughout  his  subsequent 
history,  and  then  return  to  that  of  Workman  and 
Spencer,  whom  we  now  leave  on  the  head  waters 
of  a  strange  river,  entangled  in  a  labyrinth  of  wild 
and  unexplored  region,  scarcely  knowing  which 
way  to  go.  Captain  Williams,  although  a  great 
woodsman,  very  cool  and  brave,  and  holding  on 
with  great  tenacity  to  his  original  purpose  of  mak- 
ing himself  rich  by  the  traffic  in  the  rich  peltries  of 


TBB    LOST    TRAPPERS.  109 

those  nameless  and  unknown  rivers,  was  no  Icsi 
perplexed  in  his,  own  mind  about  his  locality. 

As  the  country  was  an  unexplored  region,  he 
might  be  on  a  river  that  flowed  into  the  Pacific,  or 
he  might  be  drifting  down  a  stream  that  was  an 
affluent  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  was,  however, 
inclined  to  believe  that  he  was  on  the  sources  of 
the  Red  river.  He  therefore  resolved  to  launch  his 
canoe,  and  go  wherever  the  stream  might  convey 
him,  trapping  on  his  descent,  when  beaver  might 
be  plenty.  The  first  canoe  that  he  used  he  made 
of  buffalo  skins.  As  these  kind  of  water  convey- 
ances soon  begin  to  leak  and  rot,  he  made  another 
of  cotton*  wood,  as  soon  as  he  came  to  timber  suffi- 
ciently large,  in  which  he  embarked  for  a  port,  he 
knew  not  where.  The  most  of  his  journeyings 
Captain  Williams  performed  during  the  hours  of 
night,  except  when  he  felt  it  perfectly  safe  to  travel 
in  daylight.  His  usual  plan  was  to  glide  along 
down  the  stream,  until  he  came  to  a  place  where 
beaver  signs  were  abundant.  There  he  would 
push  his  little  bark  to  the  shore,  into  some  eddy 
among  the  willows,  where  he  remained  concealed, 
except  when  he  was  setting  his  traps  or  visiting 
them  in  the  morning.  He  always  set  his  traps  be- 
tween sun-set  and  dark,  and  visited  them  at  the 
earliest  break  of  day.  When  he  had  taken  all  the 
beaver  in  one  neighborhood,  he  would  untie  his 
little  conveyance  and  glide  onward  and  downward 
to  try  his  luck  in  another  place. 

Thus,  for  hundreds  of  miles  did  this  solitary  trap- 
per float  down  this  unknown  river,  through  an  on* 


110  THB    LOST    TRAFPEftS. 

known  country,  here  and  there  lashing  his  canoe  to 
the  willows  and  planting  his  traps  in  the  little 
tributaries  around.  The  upper  part  of  the  Arkan- 
sas (for  this  proved  to  be  the  river  upon  which  he 
was  trapping)  is  very  destitute  of  timber,  and  the 
prairie  frequently  begins  at  the  bank  of  the  river 
and  expands  on  either  side  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
see.  Captain  Williams  saw  vast  herds  of  bufialo, 
and  as  it  was  running  season,  the  bulls  were  ma- 
king a  wonderful  ado,  making  the  plains  roll  with 
their  low,  deep  grunting  or  bellowing,  tearing  up 
the  earth  with  their  feet  and  horns,  whisking  their 
tails,  and  defying  their  rivals  to  battle.  Often  they 
would  come  together  in  fierce  battle,  with  a  fury 
and  force  that  reminded  the  spectator  of  the  col- 
lision of  two  steamboats.  Smaller  game  was  also 
seen  by  Captain  Williams  in  great  abundance 
Large  gangs  of  wild  horses  could  be  frequently 
seen  grazing  on  the  plains  and  hill  sides.  As  it 
was  the  spring  of  the  year,  the  neighing  and  squeal- 
ing of  the  stallions  might  be  heard  at  all  times  of 
a  still  night.  Captain  Williams  never  used  his  rifle 
to  procure  meat,  except  when  it  was  absolutely 
necessary,  and  when  it  could  be  done  with  perfect 
safety.  On  one  occasion,  when  he  had  no  beaver 
flesh,  upon  which  he  generally  subsisted,  he  killed 
a  deer,  and  after  refreshing  an  empty  stomach  with 
a  portion  of  it,  he  placed  the  carcass,  which  he  had 
cut  up,  in  one  end  of  his  canoe.  As  it  was  his  in- 
variable custom  to  sleep  in  his  canoe,  the  night 
afler  he  had  laid  in  a  supply  of  venison  he  was 
startled  in  his  sleep  by  the  trampling  of  something 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  Ill 

in  the  bushes  on  the  bank.  Tramp,  tramp,  tramp 
went  the  footstep,  as  it  approached  the  canoe. 
Captain  Williams  first  thought  it  might  be  an  Indi- 
an that  had  found  out  his  locality,  but  an  Indian 
would  not  approach  him  in  that  careless  manner. 
Although  there  was  a  beautiful  star-light,  yet  the 
shade  of  the  trees  and  a  dense  undergrowth,  made 
it  very  dark  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  Captain 
Williams  always  adopted  the  precaution  of  tieing 
his  canoe  to  shore  with  a  piece  of  raw  hide  about 
twenty  feet  long,  which  let  it  swing  from  the  bank 
about  that  distance.  This  precaution  he  adopted 
at  night,  that  in  an  emergency  he  might  cut  the 
cord  that  bound  him  to  the  shore,  and  glide  off 
without  £uiy  noise.  Dming  the  day  he  hid  his  ca- 
noe in  the  willows.  As  the  sound  of  the  footsteps 
grew  more  and  more  distinct,  the  captain  observed 
a  huge  grizzly  bear  approach  the  edge  of  the  water 
and  hold  up  its  head  as  if  scenting  something.  He 
then  let  his  huge  body  into  the  water  and  made  for 
the  canoe.  Captain  Williams  snatched  up  his  axe 
as  the  most  suitable  means  of  defending  himself 
in  such  a  scrape,  and  stood  with  it  uplifted  and 
ready  to  drive  it  into  the  head  of  the  huge  aggres- 
sor. The  bear  reached  the  canoe,  and  immediately 
placed  his  fore  paws  upon  the  hind  end  of  it,  and 
nearly  turned  it  over.  Captain  Williams  struck 
one  of  his  feet  with  the  edge  of  his  axe,  which 
caused  him  to  relax  his  hold  with  that  foot.  He, 
however,  held  on  with  the  other  foot,  and  Captain 
Williams  inflicted  another  blow  upon  his  head, 
which  caused  Mm  to  let  the  canoe  go  entirely. 


113  TBI    LOST    TlAPFElt. 

Captain  Williams  thought  the  bear  sunk  in  tLi 
water,  from  the  stunning  effects  of  the  blow,  and 
was  drowned.  He  saw  nothing  more  of  him,  nor 
did  he  hear  any  thing.  The  presumption  was,  he 
went  under  the  water.  Ilis  aim  was  to  get  at  the 
fresh  meat  in  the  captain's  canoe.  The  next  morn- 
ing there  were  two  of  the  bear's  claws  in  the  ca- 
noe, that  had  been  severed  from  one  of  his  feet  by 
Captain  Williams'  axe.  They  were  carefully  pre- 
served by  the  resolute  captgdn  for  a  number  of 
years,  as  a  trophy  which  he  was  fond  of  exhibiting, 
and  the  history  of  which  he  delighted  to  detail. 

We  have  said  that  Captain  Williams  subsisted 
principally  upon  the  flesh  of  the  beaver,  which  he 
caught  in  his  traps.  This  animal,  when  the  hide  is 
tajten  off  and  dressed,  weighs  about  twelve  pounds, 
and  its  flesh,  although  a  little  musky,  is  very  fine. 
Its  tail,  which  is  eight  or  ten  inches  long,  is  flat 
and  oval  in  its  form,  and  is  covered  with  scales 
about  the  size  of  those  of  a  salmon  fish.  It  is  a 
great  dainty  in  the  estimation  of  the  mountain 
trapper.  He  separates  it  from  the  body  of  the 
beaver,  thrusts  a  stick  in  one  end  of  it,  and  places 
it  before  the  fire  with  the  scales  on  it.  When  the 
heat  of  the  fire  strikes  through  so  as  to  roast  it, 
large  blisters  rise  on  the  surface,  which  are  very 
easily  removed.  The  tail  is  then  perfectly  white, 
and  ver}^  delicious.  Next  to  the  tail  is  the  liver. 
This  is  another  favorite  dainty  with  the  trapper, 
and  when  properly  cooked,  constitutes  a  delightful 
repast  in  the  eye  of  these  mountain  epicures.  This 
AfiimRl  is  exceedingly  wily,  and  is  sometimes  tM 


THB    LOST    TRAPPEIB.  118 

eunning  for  the  most  experienced  trapper.  If,  by 
scent,  or  sound,  or  sight,  he  has  any  intimation  of 
the  presence  of  a  trapper,  he  puts  at  defiance  all 
his  traps.  The  trapper,  therefore,  finds  it  neces- 
sary to  practice  great  caution  when  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  a  beaver  lodge.  He  avoids  riding  over 
the  ground,  lest  the  sound  created  by  the  feet  of 
his  horse  might  strike  dismay  among  the  furry  in- 
habitants beneath  the  surface.  Instead  of  walking 
on  the  ground,  he  wades  in  the  water,  lest  he  might 
leave  a  scent  behind  by  which  he  might  be  discov- 
ered. He  also  plants  his  traps  under  the  surface  of 
the  water,  where  they  can  be  neither  seen  nor 
smelt.  But  one  kind  of  bait  is  used,  because  no 
other  kinds  are  needed,  and  this  kind  is  the  best. 
The  beaver  has  two  pair  of  testicles,  one  contain- 
ing the  semen,  by  which  he  propagates  his  race, 
and  the  other  containing  the  matter  that  gives  to 
his  body  the  musky  smell  that  is  peculisur  to  it 
These  testicles  are  opened,  and  their  contents  are 
put  in  separate  horns,  which  the  trapper  carries  by 
his  side.  When  he  uses  it  for  bait,  he  thrusts  a 
small  stick  in  both  of  his  horns,  about  an  inch  deep 
in  the  matter,  and  then  plants  it  upright  in  the 
water,  between  the  jaws  of  the  trap,  leaving  the 
baited  end  of  it  several  inches  above  the  surface  of 
the  water.  A  natural  propensity  prompts  the  bea- 
ver to  seek  the  place  whence  the  scent  issues,  ana 
he  is  taken.  In  this  respect  the  beaver  resembles 
the  dog,  that  always  seeks  to  smell  the  place  where 
one  of  his  kind  may  have  spent  his  urine.  It  if 
worthy  of  Notice,  that  the  beaver  feed«  exchiflivel> 
10 


114  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

on  the  bark  of  trees  and  shrubs,  whilst  the  ottei 
lives  on  fish  and  reptiles  ;  the  consequence  is,  the 
flesh  of  the  former  is  very  fine,  whilst  that  of  the 
latter  is  very  offensive  to  the  taste.  An  experi 
enced  trapper  always  aims  so  to  set  his  traps  as  to 
droMH  the  beaver  when  they  are  taken.  This  la 
accomplished  by  sinking  the  trap  several  inchei 
under  water,  and  driving  a  stake  through  a  ring  on 
the  end  of  the  chain,  into  the  bottom.  When  a 
beaver  finds  himself  fastened  in  a  trap,  he  pitches 
and  plunges  about  until  his  strength  is  exhausted 
when  he  sinks  down  and  is  drowned.  If  a  beaver 
succeeds  in  getting  to  shore,  he  alwaj^s  extricates 
himself  by  cutting  off  the  leg  that  is  in  the  trap. 

This  animal  is  furnished  with  several  large  front 
teeth  that  are  curved,  by  which  he  is  enabled  to  cut 
dowTi  trees  that  are  from  six  to  twelve  inches  in 
diameter.  Armed  with  these  formidable  tusks,  he 
will  cut  a  dog  that  ventures  upon  him.  immediately 
into  pieces.  They  bestow  a  great  deal  of  labor  and 
pains,  in  the  construction  of  their  dams,  and  gene- 
rally make  them  so  firm  that  a  man  may  pass  over 
them  on  horseback  wdth  perfect  safety.  The  last 
thing  that  I  shall  state,  at  present,  by  way  of  de- 
scription of  the  beaver  is,  that  his  fur,  which  is  of 
the  finest  quality  and  remarkably  thick  on  the  nide, 
ver}'  much  resembles  in  color,  the  fur  of  our  com- 
mon \Wld  rabbit. 

But  let  us  return  to  our  solitar}^  trapper,  as  we 
find  him  gliding  about  in  his  cotton- wood  canoe  on 
the  bosom  of  an  unknov^Ti  river,  upon  the  banks  of 
which,  no  white  man  had  ever  been  present,  to 


TOE    LOST    1AAPPER8  115 

leave  his  foot-prints  behind  him.  We  confess  that 
we  never  contemplate  this  part  of  Captain  Wil 
liams'  history  but  v»rith  a  feeling  of  astonishment, 
as  well  as  unrestrained  curiosity.  What  contempt 
of  danger,  or  rather  superiority  to  it !  What  zealous 
perseverance  in  the  prosecution  of  his  purposes ; 
and  at  the  same  time,  what  caution  and  constant 
vigilance  must  he  have  practised,  to  avoid  being 
discovered  by  the  natives.  For  several  months,  he 
was  certain,  that  no  eye  saw  him,  but  that  of  his 
God,  nor  did  he  see  the  face  of  a  fellow-being,  civ- 
ilized" or  savage.  He  commum  d  with  none  but  his 
own  heart,  nor  did  his  eyes  r«  st  upon  the  face  of 
any  mortal,  except  that  of  hims  elf,  as  it  was  reflec- 
ted back  from  the  surface  of  those  wild  waters. 
Day  after  day  did  he  add  to  his  stock  of  rich  pel- 
tries ;  but  day  after  day  passed  away  without 
bringing  any  light  as  to  the  destiny  before  him. 
Week  after  week  had  he  descended  this  river,  and 
no  frontier  cabin  greeted  his  return.  Wildness  and 
solitude  still  reigned  every  where.  But  Captain 
Williams  was  a  man  of  as  much  patience  as  forti- 
tude, and  possessed  a  cheerful  disposition,  that 
made  him  look  upon  the  "  sunny  side  "  of  every 
thing,  and  "  always  hoped  for  the  best."  Solitary 
as  he  was,  and  exposed  to  danger  all  the  time,  he 
frequently  spoke  of  this  kind  of  life  as  having  ita 
peculiar  attractions. 

But  it  would  have  been  a  miracle  if  he  had  en- 
tirely escaped  the  observation  of  the  savages.  Cir- 
cumstances occurred  that  led  to  his  discovery,  and 
threw  him  into  their  clutches.     As  he  was  descend- 


16  THB     LOST    TRAPPERS 

■ng  the  river,  with  his  peltries,  which  consisted  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  beaver-skins,  besidet 
some  skins  of  otter  and  other  smaller  animals  of 
the  fur-bearing  race,  all  of  which  he  had  procured 
since  he  parted  with  Workman  and  Spencer,  he 
overtook  three  Kansas  Indians,  who  were  also  in  a 
canoe  descending  the  river  as  he  learned  from  them 
to  some  post,  to  trade  \vith  the  whites.  They 
manifested  a  very  friendly  disposition  toward  Cajf 
tain  Williams,  and  expressed  a  wish  to  accompany 
him  down  the  river.  He  learned  from  them,  to  his 
great  gratification,  that  he  was  on  the  Big  Arkan- 
sELs,  and  not  more  than  five  hundred  miles  from  the 
whites.  By  this  time  Captain  Williams  had  learned 
how  much  confidence  he  could  repose  in  Indian! 
and  their  professions  of  friendship.  He  had  learned 
enough  to  know  that  they  would  not  let  a  solitary 
trapper  pass  through  their  country,  with  a  valuable 
collection  of  furs,  without,  at  least,  making  an  ef- 
fort to  rob  him.  The  plan  of  these  Kansas  would 
be  to  decoy  him  into  a  friendly  intercourse  with 
them,  and  then,  the  first  suitable  opportunity  to  strip 
him  of  every  thing  he  had.  He  resolved,  therefore, 
to  get  rid  of  them  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to  effect 
this,  he  plied  his  oars  with  all  diligence.  The 
Indians,  like  the  most  of  their  lazy  race,  had  no 
disposition  to  belabor  themselves  in  this  way  :  but 
took  it  more  leisurely,  being  satisfied  to  be  carried 
along  by  the  current  of  the  water.  Captain  WiUiams 
soon  left  them,  as  he  supposed,  far  behind  him,  and 
when  night  came  on,  as  he  had  labored  hard  aU 
day,  and  slept  none  the  night  before,  he  resolved  to 


THB    LOST    TRAPPERS  117 

tarn  aside  into  the  willows  to  take  a  few  hours  of 
sleep.  But  he  had  stopped  scarcely  thirty  minute* 
before  he  heard  some  Indians  pull  to  shore  just 
above  on  the  same  side  of  the  river.  He  immedi- 
ately renewed  his  fire,  loosed  his  canoe  from  shore, 
and  glided  smoothly  and  silently  off  and  away,  and 
rowed  hard  and  faithfully  for  two  or  three  hours, 
when  he  again  put  to  shore  and  tied  up. 

But  again,  a  short  time  after  he  had  landed,  he 
heard  some  Indians  going  in  to  shore  on  the  same 
side  and  just  above  him.  A  second  time  the  vigi- 
lant captain  slipt  out  from  the  willows,  and  glided 
stealthily  away  from  that  dangerous  ground,  and 
pulled  ahead  with  great  industry  until  some  time 
after  midnight,  when  he  supposed  he  could  with 
safety  stop  to  snatch  a  morsel  of  repose.  Gap  tain 
iWilliams  was  apprehensive  that  he  was  in  a  dan- 
gerous region ;  the  anxiety  of  his  mind,  therefore, 
kept  him  awake,  and  it  was  a  lucky  circumstance, 
for  as  he  lay  in  his  canoe,  invoking  sleep,  he  heard 
for  the  third  time  a  canoe  land,  as  before.  He  was 
now  satisfied  that  he  was  dogged  by  the  Kansas 
whom  he  had  passed  the  day  before.  In  no  very  good 
humor,  therefore,  Captain  Williams  snatched  up 
his  rifle  and  walked  up  the  bank  to  the  place  where 
he  had  heard  the  canoe  land.  As  he  suspected, 
they  were  the  three  Kansas,  and  when  they  saw 
the  captain  they  renewed  their  expressions  of 
friendship,  and  wished  him  to  partake  of  their  hos- 
l^itaUty.  Captain  Williams  stood  aloof  from  then^ 
and  shook  his  head  in  anger,  and  charged  then 
with  their  villainous  purposes.     In  the  short,  Bmt 


118  THB     LOST    TSAPPERS. 

tentious  manner  of  the  Indians,  he  said  to  them 
"■  you  now  follow  me  three  times ;  if  you  follo-s^ 
me  again,  I  kill  you,"  and  wheeled  about  abruptly 
and  returned  to  his  canoe.  A  third  time  our  soli- 
tary trapper  pushed  his  little  craft  from  land,  ani* 
Bet  off  down  stream,  to  get  away  from  a  region 
where  to  sleep  would  be  extremely  hazardous. 
Captain  Williams  faithfully  plied  his  oars  the  bal 
ance  of  the  night,  and  solaced  himself  with  the 
thought  that  he  was  very  lucky,  when  no  evil  had 
befallen  him,  except  the  loss  of  a  few  hours  of 
sleep.  But  whilst  he  was  escaping  from  the  \illain- 
ous  pursuers  behind  him,  he  was  running  into  new 
dangers  and  difficulties.  The  following  day  he 
overtook  a  large  company  of  the  same  tribe  CKau- 
sas),  headed  by  a  chief,  who  was  also  descending 
the  river.  Into  the  hands  of  these  Indians  he 
fell  a  prisoner,  and  was  conducted  to  one  of  their 
villages.  The  principal  chief  took  all  of  his  furs 
and  traps,  and  all  his  chattels.  A  wery  short  time 
dfter  this,  the  Kansas  went  to  war  with  the  Paw- 
Qees,  and  took  Captain  Williams  with  them.  In  a 
»attle  in  which  the  Kansas  gained  a  most  decided 
^rictory,  Captain  Williams  acted  a  distinguished 
part,  killed  a  number  of  Pawnees,  and,  indeed,  by 
his  very  efficient  services,  caused  the  affair  to  ter- 
minate in  favor  of  the  Kansas.  When  they  re- 
turned to  the  Kansas  village,  the  captain,  who  had 
always  been  treated  with  kindness,  was  now 
thought  to  be  a  great  brave,  and  could  have  been 
advanced  to  all  their  honors,  and  been  made  one 
•f  their  principal  chiefs.     But,  as  the  Kansas  had 


THE     LOST    TRAPPERS,  119 

tet  him  at  liberty  for  the  services  he  had  rendered 
them,  in  their  late  difficulty  with  a  formidable  and 
inveterate  foe,  he  determined  to  return  to  the  white 
settlement  on  the  Missouri. 

But  they  retained  his  furs,  and  indeed  all  his 
chattels  except  his  rifle,  with  as  many  rounds  of 
ammunition  as  would  be  necessary  to  secure  him 
provisions  along  his  route.  Captain  Williams  was 
the  more  reconciled  to  the  loss  of  his  furs,  as  he 
believed  the  Indians  would  preserve  them  with  a 
view  of  taking  them  to  a  trading  post,  where  he 
formed  the  purpose  of  being  present  to  secure  them 
again.  As  to  the  furs  that  were  caclied  before  he 
parted  with  Workman  and  Spencer,  he  intended  t< 
return  for  them  as  soon  as  he  could  get  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  accompany  him.  As  Captain 
Williams  knew  not  where  he  was  at  the  time  he 
cached  his  furs,  whilst  he  was  with  the  Kansas  he 
was  able  to  procure  some  facts  in  relation  to  the 
country  that  were  of  value  to  him.  When  he  left 
the  Platte,  which  he  supposed  to  be  the  Ai'kansas, 
he  descended  a  stream  that  interlocked  with  the 
main  branch  of  the  Platte,  and  is  an  affluent  to  the 
Big  Arkansas.  They  cocked  their  furs  near  the 
mouth  of  this  stream.  Here,  and  indeed  for  a  long 
distance  below,  the  Rocky  mountains  are  to  be  dis- 
tinctly seen,  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  When 
he  separated  from  Workman  and  Spencer,  they  set 
off  up  a  stream  emptying  also  into  the  Arkansas, 
(supposing  it  to  be  the  main  stream)  and  coming 
from  the  south.  This  proved  to  be  what,  in  those 
days,  was  called  the  third  fork  of  the  Arkansas,  ob 


IIH)  THE    LOST    TRAFPEmi 

the  west  side.  The  captain  also  learned,  whilst 
with  the  Kansas,  that  they  expected  to  repair,  th€» 
following  spring,  to  Fort  Osage,  on  the  Missouri 
river,  to  receive  some  annuities  due  them  from  the 
United  States,  and  he  knew  that  his  furs  would  be 
found  there  at  that  time.  There  was  a  fort  of 
white  men  at  that  time,  called  Cooper's  Fort,  some- 
where on  the  side  of  the  Miss«uri  opposite  the 
post  of  trade  where  the  Kansas  expected  to  assem- 
ble. He  therefore  set  off  for  that  point  on  the 
Missouri,  to  be  ready,  the  following  spring,  to  re- 
gain, if  he  could,  his  peltries  that  were  in  the  hacdfl 
of  the  Kansas. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Mixing  and  intennairying  between  white  and  red  men-  A  numeroui 
hybrid  race — The  consequence,  an  improved  race— Captain  Williama 
in  great  perplexity  and  somewiiat  frightened — A  mysterious  affair— 
Reaches  Fort  Cooper — Cibley  secures  the  lost  furs  to  Captain  Wil- 

On  the  outskirts  of  civilized  society  then,  as  now 
on  the  frontier  of  the  West,  there  has  always  been 
a  certain  motley  class  of  men,  trappers,  traders, 
renegadoes,  and  refugees  from  justice,  who  seem  tc 
have  become  disgusted  with  the  tameness  and  mo- 
notony of  civilized  life,  and  made  exiles  of  them- 
selves, by  going  where  the  restraints  and  the  secu- 
rity of  laws  are  not  felt.  For  these  men,  who  by 
the  way  are  very  numerous,  savage  life  seems  to 
have  its  peculiar  charms.  They  take  to  themselves 
wives,  and  domesticate  themselves  among  the  dif- 
ferent tribes  in  the  west,  and  live  and  die  among 
them.  If  one  of  these  men  should  happen  to  return 
to  the  abodes  of  his  white  brethren,  he  feels  like  a 
fish  out  of  water,  and  is  impatient  and  restless,  and 
seeks  the  earliest  opportunity  to  get  back  to  the 
country  of  his  choice.  The  result  of  this  intermix- 
ing and  intermarrying,  has  been  the  spr'oging  up 
of  •  numerous  hybrid  race  of  beings,  that  ionstitute 
a  medium,  through  which,  it  is  hoped,  at  ii»  distant 
day,  the  laws,  arts,  and  habitudes  of  civilized  life 
11  0«i) 


122  THE    LOST    TRAPFKSS 

may  be  successfdlly  introduced  among  the  tribes 
of  the  west,  and  be  the  means  of  reclaiming  their 
from  the  ignorance  and bai'bari ties  in  which  they  hav# 
been  so  long  enthralled.  These  half-breeds  are  al- 
ready very  numerous,  and  it  is  difficult  to  distinguisl 
them  from  white  men ;  for  they  seem  just  as  intelli- 
gent, and  just  as  decent  as  to  their  exterior ;  and 
speak  our  languEige  just  as  fluently,  as  our  own 
citizens,  and  really  vary  but  little  from  them  in  the 
color  of  the  skin.  As  Captain  Williams  was  jour- 
neying from  the  Arkansas  to  the  Missouri,  he  met 
vrlth  one  of  those  white  men,  that  had  taken  up  hia 
residence  among  the  Osages,  and  was  to  some  ex- 
tent, engaged  in  an  effort  to  teach  that  tribe  how 
to  cultivate  the  soil.  He  had  married  quite  a  good 
looking  squaw,  with  whom  he  was  living,  and  by 
whom  he  had  several  black-eyed  little  children.  He 
had  erected  two  or  three  comfortable  cabins,  around 
which  he  had  several  acres  of  ground  under  cultiva- 
tion. Captain  Williams  came  upon  his  residence 
late  ip  the  evening,  and  was  received  by  him  with 
a  real  backwoods  hospitality.  As  he  was  much 
fatigued,  he  stayed  with  him  that  night.  It  was 
now  late  in  the  fall,  and  the  cold  winds  had  already 
began  to  sweep  over  those  extensive  prtiiries.  He 
was  not  only  fatigued,  but  hungry,  and  after  enjoy- 
ing a  very  abundant  repast,  he  became  very  sleepy 
and  stupid,  and  expressed  a  wish  to  lie  down.  The 
landlord  accordingly  conducted  him  to  one  of  the 
cabins,  in  which  there  were  two  beds,  standing  in 
opposite  corners  of  the  room.  Captain  Will  ama 
threw  himself  upon  one  of  the  beds,  and  was  soon 


TBI    LOST    TRAFPSRS.  123 

in  a  veiy  deep  sleep.  About  midnight,  his  slumbei  g 
were  disturbed  by  a  singular  and  very  frightful  kind 
of  noise,  accompanied  by  struggling  on  the  otLe/ 
bed,  in  the  opposite  corner  of  the  room.  What  i ' 
was,  the  captain  was  entirely  at  a  loss  to  undur 
stand.  There  were  no  windows  in  the  cabin  to  fur 
nish  any  light,  the  door  was  shut,  and  it  was  as  darl 
as  Egypt.  A  fierce  contest  seemed  to  be  going  on 
There  were  deep  gi-oans  and  hard  breathings;  the 
snapping  and  gritting  of  teeth  was  constantly  going 
on.  Occasional  struggling  took  place,  in  which 
great  muscular  power  seemed  to  be  employed.  For 
a  moment  the  noise  would  subside,  with  drawing 
the  breath,  at  long  intervals,  as  if  death  was  taking 
place.  Then  again  the  struggling  and  scuffling 
would  be  renewed,  accompanied  as  before  with 
groaning  and  deep  sighing  and  grinding  of  the  teeth, 
and  the  exercise,  it  would  seem,  of  great  physical 
power.  1  : 1  bed  clothes,  that  consisted  of  a  blanket 
or  two  anu  a  buffalo  robe,  were  pulled  about  and 
very  much  torn.  At  last  slam-bang  the  whole  mys- 
terious affair  fell  upon  the  floor,  and  carried  on  in 
the  same  frightful  and  unearthly  way.  Captain 
Williams  stated  that  in  all  his  difficulties  with  the 
savages,  his  fortitude  had  never  been  so  fairly  tes- 
ted, as  on  this  night.  "  To  be  able  to  see  danger,"  said 
he,  "  takes  away  at  least  one  half  of  its  terror."  But 
here  was  a  mysterious,  formidable,  invisible  some- 
thing, which  he  could  not  see.  He  did  not  know 
where  to  find  the  door,  as  he  had  forgotten  where  it 
was.  As  for  his  rifle,  that  had  often  saved  his  life, 
he  now  recollected,  that  he  had  left  her  in  the  cabin 


124  fBB    LOST    TBAPPBS8. 

occupied  by  the  family.  He  had  a  knife,  but  it  wa» 
attached  to  his  hunting  coat,  which  he  had  hung  on 
the  comer  of  the  other  bedstead,  but  the  danger  wa» 
between  him  and  his  knife. 

For  a  moment  the  sounds  would  subside  as  in 
death,  and  then  again  every  power  seemed  to  be 
wakened  up,  and  the  same  unseen  and  mysterious 
and  dreadful  tragedy  repeated.  All  over  the  floor 
it  shifted  about,  until  it  got  under  the  bed  of  Cap- 
tain Williams.  Here,  as  by  convulsive  efforts,  it 
lifted  the  bed,  with  the  perplexed  captain  on  it,  off 
the  floor  several  times  ;  and  after  belaboring  itself 
dreadfully  for  several  minutes,  it  moved  rather  to 
the  side  of  the  bed.  Captain  Williams  then  raised 
himself  to  a  sitting  position  on  the  bed,  and  threw 
around  him  a  buffalo  skin,  to  protect  himself,  if  an 
effort  should  be  made  to  injure  him ;  but  in  an  in- 
stant the  skin  was  snatched  and  pulled  off,  and  the 
captain  left  uncovered  and  unprotected,  at  least  so 
far  as  a  buffalo  robe  might  prove  a  shield.  Another 
violent  snatch  took  away  a  blanket  upon  which  the 
captain  was  seated,  and  nearly  took  him  with  it. 
As  the  next  thing  might  be  a  blow  in  the  dark,  he 
felt  J  as  he  jocularly  remarked  (if  he  could  not  see). 
•hat  it  was  high  time  to  shift  his  quarters.  So  he 
made  a  desperate  leap  from  his  bed,  and  alighted 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  and  called  for 
ihe  landlord,  who  came  immediately  to  his  relief 
»y  opening  the  door.  The  captain  told  him  the 
ievil,  or  something  as  bad,  he  believed,  was  in  the 
jbom,  and  he  wanted  a  light.  The  accommodating 
kost  hurried  back,  and  in  a  moment  returned  with 


THE    LOST     TBA.'FERf.  125 

a  light,  that  soon  revealed  the  awful  myster]i .  It 
was  an  Indian,  who,  at  the  time,  was  struggling  in 
convulsions,  which  he,  it  appears,  was  in  the  habit 
of  having.  He  was  an  old  chief,  who  the  captain 
ascertained  to  be  a  relative  of  the  wife  of  the  land- 
lord, and  generally  made  his  home  there*  Being 
absent  when  the  captain  arrived,  he  came  in  at  a 
late  hour,  when  all  were  asleep,  and  repaired  to 
the  bed  he  usually  occupied.  It  was  not  known 
to  any  one  that  he  was  on  the  premises,  until  he 
was  found  in  the  above  miserable  condition.  The 
poor  fellow  had  dreadfully  mangled  himself  by 
tearing  his  flesh,  particularly  his  arms,  with  his 
teeth.  His  nose,  which  was  uncommonly  large, 
was  much  bruised  and  skinned.  He  was  removed 
out  of  the  cabin,  and  our  guest,  who  was  not  to  be 
frightened  out  of  a  night's  rest,  soon  again  sunk 
into  a  profound  repose.  Captain  Williams  reached 
Cooper's  fort  in  the  beginning  of  winter,  which  was 
at  that  time  occupied  by  a  few  white  men,  having 
been  absent  one  year  and  eight  months. 

When  Captain  Williams  reached  Cooper's  fort, 
he  learned  that  a  United  States'  factor,  (trader)  C. 
Cibley,  was  expected  from  St.  Louis  that  winter, 
to  go  up  to  fort  Osage  to  meet  the  Osages  and  Kan- 
■as,  and  pay  them  their  annuities.  Mr.  Cibley  came 
up  the  Missouri  as  far  as  Cooper's  fort,  but  was  not 
able  to  get  to  fort  Osage,  on  account  of  the  ice  and 
the  severity  of  the  wintfer.  The  Indians  were 
therefore  compelled  to  come  down  the  river  to  a 
place  now  called  Arrow  Rock,  where  they  were 
met  by  Mr.  Cibley.    Captain  Williams  was  present, 


126  TH£    LOST    TSAPFERS. 

and  there  met  the  very  Indian  chief  that  had  >  i 
bed  him  of  his  iiirs  on  the  Arkansas.  The  »7:«  a* 
of  the  United  States  had  already  been  apprised  of 
the  whole  affair,  and  informed  the  Kansas  chief 
that  as  Mr.  Williams  was  a  citizen  of  the  govern- 
ment for  which  he  was  acting,  he  would  not  pay 
them  their  annuities,  unless  they  returned  the  furs 
properly  belonging  to  JVIr.  Williams.  They  at  first 
were  unwilling  to  admit  their  villainy,  but  Mr 
Cibley  was  very  positive  and  determined,  and  fi- 
nally succeeded  in  bringing  them  to  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  deed.  In  compliance  with  the  orders 
of  the  agent,  the  guilty-looking  fellow  sneaked  o9 
to  their  lodges  to  bring  out  the  furs,  and  returned 
with  four  packages,  which  Captain  Williams  proved 
by  the  initials  of  his  name,  E.  W.,  which  were  on 
them.  The  agent  inquired  if  that  was  all.  Cap- 
tain Williams  replied,  there  were  eight  more.  The 
fraudulent  chief  said  there  were  no  more.  Mr. 
Cibley  peremptorily  demanded  the  whole  of  the 
furs.  Three  more  packages  were  then  brought  out, 
which  the  chief  afiirmed  made  up  the  number  he 
had  taken.  Mr.  Cibley  gave  them  every  assurance 
that  he  would  not  pay  them  their  annuities,  if  they 
did  not  comply  with  his  orders.  One  after  another 
three  of  the  bales  of  skins  were  reluctantly  brought 
forward,  until  they  numbered  eleven.  Mr.  Cibley 
demanded  the  twelfth,  hut  "  it  could  not  be  found," 
eaid  the  Indian  chief.  "  But  it  must  be  found," 
•aid  Cibley.  The  old  Kansas  chief  went  away,  and 
after  an  absence  of  an  hour,  during  which  time  he 
was  busy  searching  among  the  lodges  for  the  V  - 


fHE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  15W 

pack,  rAturned  and  told  Mr.  Cibley  that  ^^  he  could 
not  Jind  it,  and  he  believed  that  God  Almighty  could 
notjind  it,''  by  which  he  meant  to  be  understood, 
that  such  a  bale  of  fur  did  not  exist.  Captain  Wil- 
liams, who  was  much  amused  with  the  answer  of 
the  chief,  suggested  to  Mr.  Cibley  the  great  proba- 
bility that  one  of  the  packages  might  have  been 
lost,  and  stated,  furthermore,  that  he  would  not  in- 
sist upon  their  returning  it.  Here  the  matter  ended, 
and  in  the  end  it  resulted  to  the  great  advantage  of 
Mr.  Williams,  as  he  got  rid  of  the  very  difficult  job 
of  conveying  his  peltries  to  the  Missouri  river. 

The  following  spring  Captain  Williams  took  his 
furs  down  the  Missouri  and  sold  them  in  St.  Louis, 
and  then  returned  to  Cooper's  fort,  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  a  body  of  men  to  go  with  him  for  the 
furs  he  had  cached  on  aD  upper  tributary  of  the 
Grreat  Arkansas. 


CHAPTER  Xill. 

^■pUin  Williams  met  with  difficulty  in  raising  another  i>arty — Camaa 
chea  and  their  horsemanship,  and  way  of  fighting  on  horseback — Ob 
»6th  jf  December  Joseph  and  William  Cooper  set  out  with  Captain 
Williama — Fort  Osage,  Osage  river — Neasho  river — Their  sufieringi 
— Want  of  food — Walnuts— They  kill  eight  squirrels.  Indian 
camps  and  Osage  Indians — An  Indian  squaw  prepares  a  repast  for  the 
men — One  of  the  men  faints — Kill  two  buffalo  bulls— Strong  vdnd— 
Wild  horses — Wolves,  their  nature — A  poor  Uttle  wolf  and  a  fat 
coon — An  old  wild  stud  killed — His  meat  rank — They  reach  thff 
caches — Kill  their  horses — Kill  six  buffalo — Make  bull  boat — Suffer- 
ing  from  cold — The  Plum  thicket — A  band  of  wolves  after  a  bull — A 
prayer-book  is  burnt — Party  discovered  by  Camanche*— Move  to  an 
other  thicket — Set  off  down  the  river — Again  reach  the  Missouri 

The  gloomy  and  melancholy  account  that  Cap- 
tain Williams  had  to  give  of  his  expedition,  and 
the  horrible  representations  that  he  was  compelled 
to  make  of  the  great  majority  of  the  western  tribes, 
was  by  no  means  favorable  to  Captain  Williams' 
purpose  of  raising  a  body  of  men  to  accompany 
him  back  to  the  mountains,  for  his  furs  were  cached 
where  the  Great  Arkansas  issues  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Nor  did  his  accounts  as  to  the  great 
abundance  of  valuable  furs  in  those  regions  seem 
to  have  much  effect.  The  most  dreadful  stories 
had  been  told  about  the  savage  cruelty  of  the  pi- 
ratiocd  Sioux,  the  ferocity  of  the  ruthless  Black-feet, 
and  the  treachery  of  the  thieving  and  dishonest 


THB    LOST     TKAPPBBt.  |9t 

Crows,  and  they  were  most  abundantly  confirmed 
by  the  late  of  Captain  Williams'  party.  His  fiire, 
too,  were  in  a  country  infested  by  bands  of  ma- 
rauding Camanches,  a  tribe  that  was  not  behind 
any  other  tribe  in  the  far  west  in  point  of  strength 
and  ferocity.  They  were  represented  as  the  best 
horsemen  in  the  world,  and  as  having  the  fleetest 
horses.  Their  mode  of  fighting  was  always  on 
horseback,  and  they  would  hang  by  one  leg  on  the 
withers  of  their  horses,  throw  themselves  on  one 
side,  so  as  to  make  a  breast-work  of  their  horses, 
and  shoot  their  arrows  from  under  their  necks 
whilst  their  horses  were  at  full  speed.  And  they 
could  shoot  an  arrow  completely  through  a  man, 
horse,  or  buffalo,  with  all  ease.  Again,  a  body  of 
men  shoul'^.  be  large  to  go  through  those  regions  of 
danger,  and  such  a  body  could  not  be  raised  any 
where  above  St.  Louis,  as  there  were  very  few 
white  people  at  that  day  above  said  town. 

These  were  the  difficulties  which  met  Captain 
Williams,  whenever  he  made  an  effort  to  collect 
men  to  go  with  him.  The  ?ummer  passed  away 
and  autumn  came  on,  and  not  a  single  man  as  yet 
had  agreed  to  go ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  latter 
part  of  December  that  two  young  men  informed 
Captain  Williams  they  would  join  him.  They  were 
very  young,  and  as  there  was  a  strong  probability 
that  their  friends  would  interfere,  and  persuade  them 
to  abandon  a  trip  so  very  dangerous,  the  captain 
found  it  to  be  good  policy  to  start  within  two  or 
Ihree  da}  s  after  they  consented  to  go.  On  the  25th 
•f  December  the  old  veteran  trappy,  Vvlui  his  two 


iSO  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

jTouthfuI  companions,  Joseph  and  William  Cooper 
left  Cooper's  fort,  ag^An  to  brave  the  perils  of  th« 
wilderness.  They  set  out  on  horses,  with  ten  day'b 
provisions,  and  traveled  up  the  Missouri  to  fort 
Osage,  where  they  left  the  river  and  went  a  south- 
west course  until  they  struck  the  Osage  river. 
Here  they  found  fine  grass  for  their  horses.  In  the 
prairies  there  was  a  deep  snow,  and  the  wind  blew 
rery  cold.  Leaving  the  Osage,  they  journeyed  a 
west  course  until  they  came  to  the  Neasho  river, 
which  is  an  affluent  to  the  Great  Arkansas,  and  in- 
terlocks with  the  tributaries  of  the  Kansas.  Two 
days  before  they  reached  the  above  river,  their  pro- 
visions failed,  and  not  a  living  thing  was  to  be 
seen  on  the  face  of  the  earth ;  if  there  had  been 
any  game,  they  probably  could  not  have  secured  it, 
as  there  was  a  thick,  hard  crust  on  a  deep  snow 
that  covered  the  prairie,  and  when  they  walked  on 
it,  it  created  a  cracking  sound  that  could  have  been 
heard  a  great  distance.  They  encamped  before 
night  in  a  walnut  grove  on  the  bottom  of  the  river, 
wearied,  cold,  and  weak  from  hunger.  For  two 
days,  traveling  over  bleak  prairies,  pierced  with 
merciless  winds,  they  had  nothing  to  eat. 

The  thought  presented  itself  to  their  minds,  that 
there  might  be  walnuts  under  the  trees  composing 
the  grove  where  they  were  encamped.  They  there- 
fore immediately  began  to  remove  the  crusted  snow 
and  found  this  fruit  very  abundant ;  and  whilst  they 
were  busily  cracking  nuts,  the  sun  came  out  from 
behind  some  dark  winter  clouds,  and  shone  warm 
and  beautiful,  and  the  party  were  cheered  with  the 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  131 

sight  of  some  squirrels  that  made  their  appearance. 
They  succeeded  in  killing  eight  of  them,  and  ate 
three  of  them  that  night.  The  next  day  they  re- 
sumed their  journey,  and  trudged  along  for  three 
days,  having  nothing  on  which  to  subsist  but  five  of 
the  eight  squirrels  they  had  killed.  On  the  fourth 
day  they  came  to  the  Verdigris,  another  tributary  of 
the  Great  Arkansas,  and  found  two  Indian  camps. 
They  were  the  Osages,  who  had  been  out  on  a  buf- 
falo hunt,  but  their  supply  of  provisions  was 
scanty.  They,  however,  manifested  a  very  friendly 
disposition,  and  very  promptly  furnished  the  men 
with  something  to  eat.  Men  as  hungry  as  they 
were,  are  not  disposed  to  be  very  fastidious  as  to 
what  they  eat,  or  the  manner  in  which  it  may  be 
prepared  and  served  up.  A  squaw,  for  the  purpose 
of  cleaning  a  wooden  bowl,  set  it  out  of  the  lodge 
that  the  dogs  might  lick  it,  and  when  this  wtis  done 
by  the  canine  part  of  the  house-hold,  it  was  filled 
with  a  kind  of  porridge,  in  which  there  was  meat 
and  Indian  com.  To  season  this,  an  old  snaggle- 
toothed  squaw  added  some  small  pieces  of  buffalo 
tallow.  As  she  labored  under  the  disadvantage 
of  not  having  a  knife  to  cut  it,  she  resorted  to  the 
expedient  of  gnawing  off  piece  after  piece  and 
spitting  it  into  the  bowl. 

On  the  next  day  Captain  Williams  and  his  two 
men  left  the  lodges  of  the  Osages,  taking  with 
them  five  quarts  of  corn,  which  they  parched,  to 
eat  along  the  way.  After  traveling  two  or  three 
days,  William  Cooper  fainted  on  the  prairie,  from 
hunger  and  fatigue ;  but  Captain  Williams  and  Jc 


iS2  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS. 

seph  Cooper  carried  him  to  a  point  of  tambe^ 
where  the3'  raised  a  fire.  Here  fresh  bjifialo  sigiy» 
were  abundant,  and  Williams  and  J.  Coc  ^ler  we»  . 
out  and  killed  two  bulls.  They  took  as  much  mea< 
as  they  could  carry  to  camp,  and  when  they  had 
all  eaten  of  it,  their  faces  as  well  as  their  prospecta 
seemed  to  brighten  up,  and  they  felt  ready  as  w^ell 
as  renewed  for  the  resumption  of  their  journey. 
For  seven  or  eight  days  they  continued  to  go  west- 
ward, being  favored  with  good  weather,  except  one 
day  the  wind  blew  so  hard  from  the  west  that  they 
were  compelled  to  stop,  as  they  could  not  get  along 
against  it.  About  the  fifth  of  February  another 
snow  fell,  and  the  weather  turned  intensely  coH 
The  little  party  had  been  traveling  on  the  nort"^ 
side  of  the  Arkansas  ;  they  now  crossed  that  river, 
to  reach  a  warmer  climate.  They  report  the  cola 
as  being  so  great,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
they  saved  their  horses  from  being  frozen  to  deatt 
Continuing  a  south-west  course,  within  a  day  c 
two  they  came  to  a  region  where  there  was  no 
snow,  and  grass  was  very  abundant.  A  great  many 
wild  horses  were  to  be  seen  on  the  prairies,  eleva 
ting  their  heads  and  tails  when  the  men  would  ap- 
proach them,  and  snorting,  and  wheeling,  and  cur- 
veting around.  They  were  of  all  colors.  Large 
gangs,  also,  of  buffalo  and  elk  were  feeding  about, 
and  on  the  outskirts  of  the  buffalo  herds  there  were 
thf  usual  appendages :  that  is,  bands  of  hungry 
volves  sitting  about,  watching  the  buffalo.  En- 
couraged by  numbers,  and  mad  from  hunger  *\ey 
frequently  nake  the  most  desperate  assault^  upon 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  133 

the  buffalo,  and  even  run  down  deer.  Whilst  in 
this  region  of  good  weather,  grass  and  game,  thf 
party  lived  high  and  were  in  good  cheer.  When 
they  wanted  meat  they  would  kill  the  buffalo  cows, 
A^hich  were  very  fat  and  fine.  But  the  weather 
turned  cold;  as  they  approached  the  mountains, the 
kuffalo  disappeared,  and  there  was  nothing  to  be 
seen  but  wild  horses  and  restless  packs  of  wolves 
gadding  about,  pinched  with  cold  and  hunger.  It 
is  an  old  saying,  "  Canis  non  est  canem,^^  (dog  does 
not  eat  dog).  The  same  may  be  said  of  wolves. 
Lupus  rum  est  lupum^  (wolf  does  not  eat  wolf).  Yet 
their  ravenous  propensity  is  so  great  as  to  prompt 
them  to  attack  every  thing  else  but, their  own  race. 

Captain  Williams  and  his  men  again  found  them- 
selves destitute  of  provisions,  in  the  midst  of  win- 
ter, and  suffering  from  hunger.  When  they  looked 
out  upon  an  ocean  of  prairie,  they  could  see  noth- 
ing but  a  little  half-starved  wolf,  that  frequently 
came  to  gnaw  some  buffalo  bones.  Hunger  con- 
strained them  to  shoot  it.  "  Within  ten  minutes," 
say  the  notes  of  their  journal,  "  his  hide  was  taken 
off  and  some  of  the  meat  was  cooked  and  ready  to 
be  eaten."  They  speak  of  his  flesh  as  having  a  good 
flavor,  a::d  being  very  refreshing  to  their  hungry 
stomachs.  They  also  cleaned  his  entrails,  and  care- 
fully preserved  them  for  future  necessities.  Such 
are  the  means  to  which  the  early  adventurers  in 
that  country  were  compelled  to  resort  to  prevent 
starving  to  death. 

The  party  also  procured  a  racoon,  which  being 
fat,  made  a  fine  repast.  One  day  an  old  wild  stud  was 


1S4  TBB     LOST    TRAPPBS8. 

ieen  by  the  men,  pawing  the  ice  to  get  to  water,  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  part)',  in  the  prairie. 
J.  Cooper  took  the  advantage  of  some  sand  hills, 
and  got  within  one  hundred  and  forty  yards,  (as 
he  supposed)  when  the  horse  trotted  up  within 
eighty  yards,  and  received  a  shot  in  the  bulge  of 
the  ribs,  which  only  caused  him  to  snort  and  prance 
about  for  the  moment.  Cooper  then  shot  him  the 
second  time,  in  the  point  of  one  of  his  shoulders, 
which  made  him  ran  off  a  short  distance,  and 
lie  down.  Cooper  was  so  weak  from  hunger  that 
he  was  compelled  to  make  a  rest  of  his  gun  stick 
and  wiping  stick,  before  he  could  hold  up  his  gun 
with  sufficient  firmness  to  shoot  ^vith  any  degree  of 
accuracy.  Captain  Williams  observing  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  Cooper's  shots,  came  up  and  shot  the 
horse  in  the  head.  They  skinned  him,  and  supped 
upon  his  flesh.  His  hide  they  preserved  for  tugs 
to  bind  up  their  furs,  as  they  were  now  only  a  short 
distance  fi-om  the  cacJies.  This  flesh,  to  some  extent 
satisfied  the  cravings  of  their  hungry  appetites,  but  it 
was  very  coarse  and  strong,  and  as  they  expressed 
themselves,  "not  fit  for  a  white  man  to  eat."  It 
vvould  remain  in  the  stomach  for  a  long  time,  in  a 
ijtate  of  indigestion,* and  for  several  days,  (eight  or 
ten  they  said),  "  they  belched  up  the  old  stud  as 
strong  as  ever." 

They  reached  the  caches  about  the  lOth  of  March. 

Phey  found  them  undiscovered  by  wolves  or  Indians, 

and  of  course   undisturbed.     Up  to  this  time  they 

lad   lost  none  of  their  horses,  and  now  that  they 

lad  reached  the  point,  both  of  place  and  time,  be* 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  135 

jTond  which  they  would  not  have  much  need  of  theil 
services,  they  were  not  much  concerned  about  theuf 
preservation.  Indeed,  as  they  intended  to  take 
their  furs  down  the  river,  and  as  their  horses  might 
betray  them  into  the  hands  of  Indians,  the  safety 
of  the  party  required  that  they  should  get  rid  of 
them,  some  way.  It  would  not  be  safe  to  turn  them 
loose.  They  would  wander  about,  be  picked  up  by 
the  Indians,  and  lead  to  their  discovery.  They, 
therefore,  determined  to  shoot  them,  and  preserve 
by  drying  some  of  their  flesh,  and  throw  them  into 
the  river. 

Within  a  day  or  two,  after  they  reached  the 
caches^  a  herd  of  bufl^alo  made  their  appearance, 
but  on  the  opposite  (north)  side  of  the  river.  They 
were  moving  toward  their  camp.  The  men  crossed 
the  river,  and  met  them  about  eight  miles  from 
camp,  and  killed  six  of  them.  They  skinned  three 
of  them,  and  took  as  much  meat  as  they  could  carry 
with  the  three  hides  back  to  their  camp.  By  the 
time,  however,  they  had  finished  the  work  of  skin- 
ning and  cutting  night  came  on,  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  sperd  the  night  in  the  prairie  without  fir© 
They  broke  some  of  the  bones  of  the  buffalo  an  J 
procured  a  supply  of  marrow,  upon  which  they 
supped,  in  its  raw  state.  They  thought  it  a  great 
luxury.  But  their  bedding  was  at  their  camp,  and 
they  could  get  no  wood  to  make  a  fire,  as  the  tim- 
ber on  that  side  of  the  river  seemed,  at  least,  twenty 
miles  oflT.  In  this  emergency,  they  spread  one  of 
the  raw  hides  on  the  ground,  upon  which  they 
stretched  themselves,  whilst  they  used  another  of 


iS6  THE     LOST    TBAPPEK8. 

the  hides  for  a  covering.  But  as  the  weather  was 
very  cold,  their  covering  froze  ven^  hard  and  would 
not  fit  down  and  around  them.  The  consequencT 
was,  the  cold  wind  blew  under  their  covering,  anv 
they  suffered  greatly  from  cold  during  the  night. 
The  next  morning  very  early  they  returned,  cross- 
ing the  river  to  the  south  side  to  their  encamp- 
ment. They  now  went  to  work  to  construct  what 
are  called  bull-boats,  to  convey  their  fur  down  the 
river,  when  the  spring  rise  should  come  down,  caus- 
ed by  the  melting  of  the  snow  in  the  Rocky  Mouu' 
tains.  This  kind  of  boat  is  made  by  stretching  a 
green  buffalo  hide  over  a  light  frame  of  willows  or 
some  other  wood.  It  is  then  turned  up  to  the  sun 
to  dry  before  it  is  launched.  It  is  a  ver}^  convenient 
kind  of  water  crail,  and  answers  a  good  purpose, 
where  timber  cannot  be  had  to  make  canoes.  In 
crossing  streams  that  cannot  be  forded,  they  are 
generally  used,  as  they  are  very  easily  constructed, 
and  made  in  a  very  short  time.  They,  however, 
very  soon  begin  to  leak,  and  it  is  necessary  to  take 
them  out  of  the  water  and  dry  them.  In  a  few 
days  they  begin  to  rot  and  are  of  no  farther  use. 
Williams  and  the  two  Coopers  made  three  boats  of 
this  kind,  and  after  drying  them,  concealed  them  so 
as  to  have  them  ready  for  the  spring  freshet. 

As  there  was  no  rise  in  the  Arkansas  that  spring, 
our  little  party  for  the  sake  of  greater  security,  went 
down  the  river  to  a  large  plum  thicket,  into  which 
they  crept.  In  the  centre  of  this  fastness  they  cut 
away  the  brush  so  as  to  open  a  place  spacious 
enough  to  allow  them  to  lodge  there  at  night    They 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS  187 

also  opened  a  nai-row  path  from  the  centre  to  the 
outside  to  admit  of  their  passing  in  and  out.  At 
the  same  time  they  cut  a  small  hack-berry  bush 
which  they  made  to  answer  the  purpose  of  a  gate. 
At  night  it  was  placed  in  this  narrow  path,  and 
made  it  perfectly  impassable.  In  the  morning  it 
was  rolled  out  of  the  path  upon  the  thicket.  Here 
they  took  up  their  residence,  until  the  river  should 
rise,  or  some  marauding  band  of  Indians  should 
find  them.  Whilst  here,  and  at  a  time  when 
they  were  almost  destitute  of  anything  to  eat,  as 
they  were  lounging  about  the  border  of  the  plum 
thicket,  peering  over  the  prairies,  they  saw  at  a 
great  distance  a  large  bull  attacked  by  two  wolves* 
he  was  coming  toward  the  thicket,  and  as  he  passed 
the  men  the  number  of  the  wolves  had  increased  to 
about  fifty.  He  betook  himself  to  the  river,  which 
was  but  a  few  steps  from  the  camp.  The  wolves 
dashed  into  the  water  after  him.  As  the  river  was 
very  low  and  the  water  shallow,  no  part  of  him  was 
covered  but  his  legs,  sometimes  he  was  covered  with 
the  wolves  gnawing  him  in  every  part.  At  last 
they  cut  his  ham-strings,  which  caused  him  to 
sink  down.  The  men  then  shot  the  buffalo  and 
drove  away  the  wolves  and  took  possession  of  his 
carcass. 

During  their  imprisonment  in  this  thicket  one  day 
seemed  as  long  as  four,  as  they  had  no  way  to 
amuse  themselves,  and  were  compelled  to  spend 
day  after  day,  and  night  after  night,  in  and  about 
their  sequestered  lodge.  They  were  in  a  region 
TuU  of  danger,  as  they  frequently  saw  Indians  on 
13 


138  THE    LOST    TKAPPERS. 

the  prairie.  Joseph  Cooper  had  a  small  pmycr* 
book,  that  he  read  every  day  to  his  two  companions, 
and  in  the  evening  he  was  in  the  habit  of  sticking 
it  up  in  the  fork  of  a  little  hack-berry  tree.  It 
would  appeeir  that  the  lessons  read  from  the  prayer- 
book  were  not  very  acceptable  to  the  company,  as 
one  morning  the  book  was  found  in  the  ashes  and 
burnt.  Joseph  Cooper  seemed  not  to  miss  his  book, 
but  occasionally  recited  from  his  memory  an  exer- 
cise equally  as  dry  and  tasteless  as  the  book. 

After  being  there  about  twenty  long  days,  the 
monotony  of  the  place  was  interrupted  by  three 
Camanches,  who  discovered  the  men,  and  shot 
several  arrows  at  them  before  they  got  into  their 
place  of  security.  Two  of  the  Indians  remaineci 
to  watch  the  men,  whilst  the  other  one  put  off  to 
communicate  the  news  to  their  part)\  During  the 
absence  of  the  one,  Captain  Williams  spoke  to  the 
two  that  stood  as  guard  about  sixt}^  yards  from 
the  thicket,  and  such  were  the  answers  he  received, 
that  he  went  to  them  and  succeeded  in  getting 
them  to  the  camp.  The  men  gave  them  the  best 
they  had  to  eat,  and  got  them  in  a  very  pleasant 
and  talkative  mood.  About  three  hours  after  they 
saw  a  great  fog  or  dust,  and  after  a  little  time  they 
discovered  that  it  was  made  by  many  Indians  on 
horse-back.  They  came  ready  for  battle,  naked, 
except  a  flap,  and  furnished  with  bows  and  arrows 
and  arrow-fenders  or  shields.  When  they  came 
wdthin  forty  yards  of  the  camp  they  were  met  by 
the  two  that  had  remained  at  the  camp,  and  after 
a  talk  among  them  that  lasted   about  five   min 


THE    LOST    TBAPPER?  18S 

mes,  they  dismounted  and  stripped  their  horses  to 
remain  there  all  night.  Having  regulated  matters 
about  their  camp,  they  went  to  that  of  Captain 
Williams.  They  had  a  great  curiosity  to  know 
something  about  the  white  man's  gun,  which  they 
had  never  seen  before.  They  expressed  a  wish  to 
Bee  it  used,  and  made  a  small  circle,  which  they 
drew  with  a  piece  of  charcoal  on  a  piece  of  cotton- 
wood,  at  which  Captain  Williams  shot  to  show 
them  the  dexterity  of  the  white  man  in  the  use  of 
the  rifle.  The  captain  shot  and  nearly  drove  the 
centre  of  the  circle.  They  were  delighted  with 
the  performance,  and  expressed  a  wish  to  see  the 
other  men  shoot.  Captain  Williams  told  them  that 
these  two  men  would  put  their  balls  just  there^ 
pointing  at  the  same  time  to  the  centre. 

The  party  were  certainly  very  fortunate  in  getting 
on  the  right  side  of  these  savages.  The  Caman- 
ches  are  one  of  the  most  ferocious  and  barbsirous 
tribes  in  the  far  west,  and  notorious  for  their  cru- 
elty to  those  who  fall  into  their  hands,  and  for 
many  years  subsequent  to  that  day  for  being  the 
implacable  foes  of  the  white  man.  The  Camanche 
Indians  may  be  justly  called  "  the  terror  of  the 
Santa  Fe  trade."  Captain  Williams  found  it  neces- 
sary, for  their  escape,  to  practice  some  deception 
upon  them.  The  Camanches  were  very  short!) 
going  to  war  against  the  Pawnees,  and  were  ac 
tively  engaged  in  preparing  for  it.  This  fact  the 
sagacious  captain  learned  from  the  two  that  had 
remained  to  watch  their  lodge.  He  professed  to 
have  sustained  injuries  from  that  tribe,  and  to  en 


140  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS 

tertain  designs  of  revenging  them,  and  offered  to 
join  the  Camanches  against  them.  This  plan 
acted  like  a  charm.  They  treated  the  three  men 
with  much  friendship,  and  informed  our  men  that 
they  were  going  to  one  of  their  villages,  and  that 
they  would  returiL  in  four  days,  and  when  they 
returned  it  was  a  mutual  understanding  that  the 
three  white  men  were  to  accompany  them  against 
the  Pawnees.  The  Indians,  after  spending  the  night 
with  them,  left  them  the  next  morning.  Early  the 
following  night  our  little  party  hurried  away  from 
the  place  where  they  had  made  so  narrow  an  es- 
cape. They  took  the  trace  made  by  the  Indians 
down  the  river,  and  followed  it  for  several  miles 
Their  policy  in  doing  this  was  to  prevent  their  own 
trace  from  being  perceived.  They  traveled  hard 
that  night,  and  waded  the  river  three  or  four  times, 
and  about  sun-rise  they  reached  another  large  plum 
thicket  on  an  island  in  the  Arkansas,  in  the  heart 
of  which  they  opened  room  for  another  lodge. 
Here  they  laid  themselves  down  to  take  that  rest 
they  so  much  needed,  and  a  snow  fell  upon  them 
about  three  inches  deep.  Although  it  was  the 
latter  part  of  April,  the  proximity  of  this  region  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains  made  the  weather  at  that 
time  of  the  year  quite  cold.  They  were  afraid  to 
move,  as  there  was  a  snow  on  the  ground,  and 
therefore  remained  not  only  that  day,  but  that  night 
also,  wrapped  up  in  their  buffalo  robes  under  the 
snow,  without  fire  or  any  thing  to  eat. 

They  remained  on  this  island  until  the  middle  of 
"^une,  during  which  they  found  a  plenty  of  game  on 


THE     LOST     TRAP»2E8.  141 

the  island  for  their  purposes.  They  then  started 
baek  up  the  river,  which  was  then  rising,  went  to 
their  caches,  raised  their  fur,  and  set  off  with  it  with 
all  haste  down  the  river,  in  their  bull-boats.  They 
glided  along  smoothly  and  quietly  for  ten  days, 
when  they  were  compelled  to  stop  and  dry  their 
boats.  After  starting  for  the  second  time,  and  tra- 
veling a  few  miles,  they  saw  a  large  company  of 
Indians,  who  had  been  encamped  a  short  distance 
from  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  were  taking  up  their 
lodges  to  leave.  The  men  glided  along  under  a 
bluff  bank  which  prevented  them  from  being  discov- 
ered. Their  boats  lasted  only  four  days  longer,  when 
they  began  to  leak,  and  the  party  were  compelled 
to  stop  and  kill  buffalo,  and  make  new  boats  of  this 
kind,  as  they  had  not  yet  come  to  timber  of  which 
canoes  could  be  made.  These  boats  proved  to  have 
less  durability,  than  the  first  they  made,  as  they 
lasted  but  nine  days,  when  they  were  abandoned  £i3 
useless.  By  this  time,  however,  they  had  come  to 
timber,  and  they  went  to  work  with  two  axes  and 
made  two  canoes,  which  they  lashed  together,  and 
in  which  they  put  their  furs.  In  these  they  resumed 
their  journey,  and  floated  down  with  the  current 
without  any  thing  occurring  to  excite  unusual  ap- 
prehensions of  danger,  until  the  fourth  day,  when 
they,  as  they  were  descending  the  river,  heard  below 
them  the  report  of  guns,  and  the  sound  of  that 
which  seemed  to  be  bells.  They  therefore  pushed 
their  canoes  to  shore  and  concealed  them  by  hack- 
ing down  bushes  over  them ;  and  remained  there 
until  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  night.     They  then 


142  TBE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

very  caatiously  pushed  their  canoes  into  the  current 
and  as  the  night  was  dark  and  rain  was  falling,  they 
passed  without  being  seen  by  the  savages.  As  it 
frequently  lightened,  when  they  were  passing  the 
Indians,  they  unexpectedly  found  themselves  pass- 
ing down  considerable  falls  in  the  Arkansas,  of 
which  they  had  no  knowledge.  They  passed  over 
without  any  unfavorable  accident.  Two  days  jour- 
ney from  these  falls  they  overtook  eight  Cherokee 
Indians  going  down  to  one  of  their  villages.  At 
first  they  were  very  shy  and  alarmed,  but  the  party 
laid  down  their  guns  and  made  signs  of  friendship 
and  they  then  met  Captain  Williams  and  talked 
with  him.  He  procured  from  them  some  salt  and 
tobacco,  luxuries  by  the  way,  which  they  had  not 
tasted  for  the  last  six  months.  When  the  inter-view 
ended  between  the  captain  and  the  Indians,  they  both 
moved  on  in  their  canoes.  The  Indians  showed  a 
disposition  to  keep  with  the  captain,  and  the  cap- 
tain knowing  the  treacherous  character  of  the  sav- 
ages, was  as  anxious  to  get  rid  of  them.  For  two 
or  three  days  they  hung  about  our  little  party  in 
spite  of  all  that  they  could  do  to  prevent  it,  landing 
when  they  would  land,  and  traveling  when  and 
only  when  they  would  travel. 

When  they  drew  near  a  Cherokee  village,  these 
fellows  went  ahead,  as  it  afterwards  appeared,  to 
communicate  to  their  people  the  fact  of  these  men 
being  on  the  river,  and  to  prepare  to  rob  them.  For 
when  they  approached  the  village,  the  river  was 
absolutely  covered  with,  canoes,  playing  about  on 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  a  drum  and  fife  were 


THE     LOST    TSArPERS.  142 

naking  music;  and  when  Captain  Williams'  ca- 
noes came  opposite  to  their  village,  the  Indiana 
rowed  up  by  the  side  of  them,  sprung  into  them, 
seized  the  rifles,  claimed  the  three  men  as  prison- 
ers, and  tumbled  all  the  furs  out  on  shore  and  car- 
ried them  off.  In  the  meantime  Williams  and  the 
two  Coopers  were  ordered  to  follow  a  large  Indian, 
whilst  they  were  guarded  by  about  fifty  with  guns. 
They  Were  conducted  about  ten  miles,  to  an  agent 
for  the  United  States,  a  Mr.  Lovely,  for  trial,  as 
they  were  suspected  for  being  three  men  who  had 
robbed  the  Osages,  and  whom  Lovely  had  author- 
ized to  be  apprehended.  They  were  detained  about 
three  days,  when,  having  satisfied  the  agent  that 
they  were  not  the  men  they  were  supposed  to  be, 
they  were  discharged,  and  their  furs  were  restored 
to  them. 

Down  the  river  Arkansas  our  three  adventurers 
continued  to  float  in  their  cotton-wood  crafl,  de- 
lighted wdth  their  success  in  escaping  all  the  dan- 
gers behind  them,  and  with  the  prospect  of  sooa 
being  within  the  limits  of  the  country  inhabited  by 
the  white  man.  They  soon  reached,  after  passing 
the  Cherokee  village,  a  trading  post,  not  far  above 
what  is  now  the  seat  of  government  of  Arkansas, 
where  they  disposed  of  their  furs  for  the  snug  sum 
of  about  five  thousand  dollars,  to  a  white  trader 
whose  name  was  M.  Murry.  Those  furs  would 
now  brirg  double  that  amount.  From  this  point 
they  crossed  to  St.  Louis,  and  from  thence  up  the 
Missouri  back  again  to  Cooper's  fort,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  about  one  year. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  tkumm  river— Hunter's  paradise— Its  source — Statements  of  Pike- 
Workman  and  Spencer  descend  the  Colorado — Scenery  of  that 
river — Spanish  Caravan — They  go  to  Upper  California — Spend  th« 
winter  in  that  country,  examining  the  country — Return  to  Santa  Fe. 

Before  we  return  to  the  narrative  of  the  events 
tliat  attended  the  wanderings  of  Workman  and 
Spencer,  we  will  furnish  a  few  facts  in  relation  to 
the  Arkansas  river  and  the  country  through  which 
it  passes.  This  great  affluent  to  the  Mississippi, 
from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  is  upwards  of  two 
thousand  miles  in  length,  and  is  navigable  to  the 
mountains  during  the  spring  freshet ;  at  any  other 
time  of  the  year  its  navigation  is  extremely  uncer- 
tain that  high  up.  It  has  one  peculiarity,  noticed 
by  all  who  have  seen  it,  and  that  is,  about  two 
hundred  miles  from  its  source  it  has  a  deep,  navi- 
gable stream  any  season  of  the  year,  whilst  for  an 
extent  of  four  or  five  hundred  miles  below  the 
mountains  the  bed  of  the  river  is  wide  and  a  perfect 
sand-bar,  which,  in  the  summer  season^  is  so  near 
dry  that  the  water  does  not  run,  but  stands  about 
in  ponds.  The  water  no  doubt  sinks.  "  The  bor- 
ders of  the  Arkansas  river,"  says  one  who  explored 
that  cou"itry  in  1807,  "may  be  termed  the  terrestrial 
paradiso  of  T»ur  territories  for  the  wandering  sav- 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  l4fi 

ages.  Of  all  countries  visited  by  the  footsteps  of 
civilized  man,  there  never  was  one,  probably,  that 
produced  game  in  greater  abundance,  and  we  know 
that  the  manners  and  morals  of  those  erratic  na- 
tions are  such  as  never  to  give  them  a  numerous 
population  ;  and  I  believe  that  there  are  buffalo,  elk 
and  deer  sufficient  on  the  banks  of  the  Arkansas 
alone,  if  used  without  waste,  to  feed  all  the  sav- 
ages in  the  United  States'  territory  one  century.** 
The  above  extract  is  from  Pike's  journal,  and  al- 
though it  may  seem  extravagant,  it  is  most  abun- 
dantly confirmed  by  the  observation  of  all  men 
who  traveled  through  those  regions  at  that  early 
day.  A  gentleman  now  living  in  Missouri,  whose 
word  is  as  good  as  that  of  any  living  man,  and 
who  was  among  the  first  traders  to  Santa  Fe,  in- 
formed me  that  his  wagons  were  stopped  for  two 
hours  by  a  frightened  herd  of  buffalo,  that  threat- 
ened to  overrun  their  caravan.  They  succeeded 
in  dividing  the  multitude,  by  firing  their  guns  and 
shouting  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  and  they  passed 
on  both  sides.  As  far  as  they  could  see,  in  every 
direction  from  the  point  they  occupied,  the  face  of 
the  country  seemed  to  be  densely  covered  with  the 
moving  mass  of  living  arimals.  How  immensely 
great  must  the  herd  have  been,  when  their  passing 
the  caravan  consumed  about  two  hours.  We  could 
give  many  other  similar  statements,  if  it  were 
n  ejessary,  made  by  a  gentleman  of  veracity,  going 
to  prove  the  abundance  of  buffalo  at  that  time,  on 
all  the  western  and  south-western  waters.  The 
earliest  adventurers  were  under  the  impression  that 
13 


146  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

game  could  not  become  scarce,  and  that  thcrt 
would  be  an  abundance  for  the  savages  for  many 
ages  to  come. 

Let  us  compare  these  statements  with  those 
foimd  in  Captain  Fremont's  expedition  in  the 
years  1843--4.  "A  great  portion  of  the  region  '.*y 
habited  by  this  nation  (the  Shoshonees)  formerly 
abounded  in  game,  the  bulFalo  ranging  about  in 
herds,  as  we  found  them  on  the  eastern  waters,  and 
the  plains  dotted  with  scattering  bands  of  antelope ; 
but  so  rapidly  have  the}^  disappeared  within  a  few 
years,  that  now%  as  we  journeyed  along,  an  occa- 
sional buffalo  and  a  few  wild  antelope  were  all  that 
remained  of  the  abundance  which  had  covered  the 
country  with  animal  life.  The  extraordinary  rapid- 
ity with  which  the  buffalo  is  disappearing  from  our 
territory  will  not  appear  surprising,  when  we  re- 
member the  great  scale  on  w^hich  their  destruction 
is  yearly  carried  on.  With  inconsiderable  excep- 
tions, the  business  of  the  American  trading  posts 
is  carried  on  in  their  skins ;  every  year  the  Indian 
villages  make  new  lodges,  for  which  the  skin  of  the 
buffalo  furnishes  the  material ;  and  in  that  portion 
of  the  country  where  they  are  still  found,  the  Indi- 
ans derive  their  entire  support  from  them,  and 
slaughter  them  wdth  thoughtless  and  abominable 
extravagance.  Like  the  Indians  themselves,  they 
have  been  a  characteristic  of  the  west,  and  like 
them  they  are  visibly  diminishing." 

About  twenty-five  years  ago,  near  the  sources  of 
the  Colorado  and  Beax  river,  buffalo  existed  in 
great  abundance,  and  seemed  to  be  an  inexhausti 


1 
THE    LOST    TBAPPERS.  147 

ble  source  of  subsistence  upon  which  the  savagei 
might  safely  depend  for. a  century  to  come.  But 
the  buffalo  are  gone  from  that  region,  and  the  poor 
destitute  natives  are  frequently  exposed  to  starva- 
tion. There  is  reason  to  believe  that  buffalo  were 
never  so  abundant  in  and  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains as  they  were  on  the  eastern  waters.  Through- 
out all  the  country  east  of  the  mountains  are  found 
what  are  called  buffalo  paths  or  routes,  that  con- 
tinue for  hundreds  of  miles,  from  several  inches  to 
several  feet  in  depth.  These  ancient  vestiges  are 
not  met  with  west  of  the  mountains. 

The  time  was  when  expeditions  crossing  the 
plains  from  Missouri  to  Santa  Fe,  and  from  Mis- 
souri to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  could  almost  at  any 
time  see  bands  of  buffalo  ranging  about,  and  could 
safely  depend  upon  them  for  subsistence.  Now  an 
expedition  does  not  think  of  depending  upon  the 
game  of  the  country  to  sustain  them  on  their  jour 
ney,  but  are  always  supplied  with  provisions  to 
take  them  through.  A  company  going  either  to 
Oregon  or  Santa  Fe  would  have  to  travel  several 
hundred  miles  from  Independence,  a  frontier  town 
of  Missouri,  before  they  would  see  buffalo,  and 
when  they  see  them,  they  may  look  out  for  Indians 
as  they  now,  like  the  wolves,  follow  the  buffalo. 

To  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  extent  of 
the  trade  in  buffalo  skins,  as  carried  on  by  the  dif 
ferent  companies,  we  would  state  that  Captain 
Fremont  gives  a  statement  furnished  him  by  a 
partner  of  the  American  Bur  Company,  which  fixei 
the  total  amount  of  robes  annually  traded  to  th« 


'«8  THE     LOST     TRAPPEBb 

oiiferent  companies  at  ninety  thousand.  But  we 
are  to  remember  that  there  are  a  number  of  tribes 
of  Indians  who  depend  upon  the  buffalo  for  subsis- 
tence, who  furnish  no  skins  for  trade.  The  Indiansj 
too,  generally  kill  the  greatest  number  of  buffalo 
in  the  summer  and  fall  seasons,  to  avail  themselves 
of  a  hot  sun  to  dry  the  meat  for  winter  provisions , 
and  yet  at  this  time  the  skins  are  not  fit  for  pur- 
poses of  trade.  The  skins  that  are  good  for  dress- 
ins'  are  only  those  that  are  procured  in  the  winter, 
wuci^  Jhe  wool  and  hair  is  long.  To  this  is  to  be 
added  the  fact  that  the  hides  of  bulls  are  not  taken 
off  and  dressed  at  any  season.  And  then  again 
an  immense  number  of  calves  are  killed  by  the 
wolves. 

Immense,  therefore,  as  the  herds  of  buffalo  may 
have  been,  from  the  above  statements,  it  will  not 
be  difficult  to  see  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  race  of  that  animal  will  be  almost  if  not 
quite  extinct  on  the  plains  and  prairies  of  the  far 
west.  The  question  may  be  asked,  what  will  be 
the  means  of  subsistence  left  the  different  tribes 
when  this  takes  place  ?  We  answer,  those  tribes 
are  diminishing  and  disappearing  as  fast,  if  not 
faster,  than  their  means  of  subsistence.  Such  are 
the  dreadful  conflicts  that  are  constantly  taking 
place  between  the  different  tribes,  such  the  massa- 
cres and  burning  of  each  other's  towns  and  villages, 
besides  acts  of  cruelty  perpeti'ated  by  indi\4duals, 
that  scarcely  the  name  remains  of  tribes  that  were 
once  ver}'  numerous  and  formidable.  And  if  these 
savage  customs  eire  kept  up,  as  they  in  all  proba- 


THE     LOST    TRAPPERS  149 

bility  will  be,  the  race  of  the  red  man  will  diminish 
so  fast  that  they  A\dll  not  furnish  any  obstruction 
to  the  expansion  of  our  population  and  the  occupa- 
tion of  their  territory.  When  their  country  may 
be  needed  to  receive  the  surplus  of  our  rapidly  in- 
creasing population,  there  will  be  no  necessity  to 
prompt  us  to  get  it  by  conquest  or  by  purchase 
The  original  proprietors  will  not  be  there  to  vindi- 
cate their  claims  to  it,  or  to  waylay  the  white  man 
and  take  his  scalp. 

Captain  Williams  speaks  of  the  country  near  the 
Arkansas  as  generally  beautiful  and  rich,  as  admi- 
rably adapted  to  the  raising  of  stock  of  every  kind. 
Any  number  of  horses,  cattle  and  sheep  could  be 
kept  there,  as  the  earth,  both  winter  and  summer 
furnishes  spontaneously  an  abundance  of  food 
The  difficulty  in  the  way  of  that  country  being 
densely  populated  is  the  total  want  of  timber  in 
many  parts.  But  it  has  been  satisfactorily  demon- 
strated that  timber  can  be  raised  with  success  in 
the  rich  soil  of  the  west.  The  discovery  of  coal,  no 
doubt,  will  make  the  country  habitable.  In  many 
places  in  the  prairie  states,  coal  has  been  found  in 
abundance,  supplying  the  absence  of  timber 

We  have  said  that  Williams,Workman  and  Spencer 
supposed  they  were  on  the  Red  river,  and  the  little 
knowledge  they  had  of  the  country  led  Workman 
and  Spencer  to  think  that,  if  they  ascended  this 
(Red)  river  to  its  source  and  crossed  a  mountain 
range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  they  would  bo  in 
the  Spanish  country,  and  somewhere  near  Santa  Fe, 
the  seat  of  government.     And  they  would  have 


150  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS 

reached  SantaFe  by  this  route,  if  they  had  really  t>ot^ 
on  Red  river,  but  they  were  on  the  great  Arkansas. 
Laboring  under  this  mistake,  our  two  trappers  set 
off  up  the  river,  resolved  to  follow  the  main  branch 
to  its  source,  from  which  they  must  have  been  at 
that  time  not  less  than  three  or  four  hundred  miles. 
Fortunately  they  were  but  a  few  days'  travel  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  passed  over  that  part  of 
their  journey,  by  the  exercise  of  a  great  deal  of 
caution,  without  being  detected  by  the  savages. 
When  they  reached  the  mountains,  they  observed 
game  was  diminishing  in  quantity,  which  was  a  cir- 
cumstance in  their  favor,  as  the  country  was  not 
likely  to  be  overrun  with  prowling  bands  of  Indians 
Indeed  they  saw  very  few  signs  of  Indians,  and 
what  they  saw  were  very  old.  When  they  entered 
the  mountains,  they  traveled  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river,  for  two  or  three  days,  and  then  crossed  to 
the  north  side.  They  speak  of  a  very  high  peak  that 
was  visible  nearly  all  the  time  they  were  on  that 
ri^'ar  Its  top  was  covered  with  snow  and  glistened 
in  the  sun.  It  seemed  so  very  high,  to  use  their  own 
words  "  that  a  cloud  could  not  pass  between  its  top 
anc  the  sky."  It  was,  most  probably  the  peak,  the 
altitude  of  which  was  taken  by  Lieutenant  Pike,  the 
year  before,  (1807),  and  found  to  be  about  eighteen 
or  nineteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean.  This  peeik  is  so  very  remarkable  as  to  be 
known  to  all  the  savage  nations  for  hundreds  of 
miles  around,  and  to  be  spoken  of  with  admiration  by 
the  Spaniards  of  New  Mexico,  and  was  the  bounds 
of  their  travels  north-west.     Pike  speaks  of  it,  a^ 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  151 

not  being  out  of  sight,  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  days 
It  is  characteristic  of  the  very  high  peaks,  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  that  they  can  be  seen  a  very 
great  distance,  although  they  may  appear  to  be 
w^ithin  a  day's  ride.  The  top  of  some  of  these 
peaks  are  inaccessible,  from  obstructions  that  are  in 
the  way,  and  from  the  fact,  that  they  are  covered 
with  deep  snows.  Workman  and  Spencer  whilst 
on  the  Arkansas  observed  the  trace  of  a  party  as- 
sending  the  river,  which  was  old,  and  proved  to  be 
that  of  Pike's  party  in  1807,  as  they  saw  the  names 
of  the  men  occasionally  engraved  on  rock  and  trees 
and  the  name  Red  river  also,  a  circumstance  that 
confirmed  them  in  their  notion,  that  they  were  on 
that  river.  This  fact  was  calculated  to  encourage 
them,  as  they  were  not  aware  of  the  fact,  that  lieu- 
tenant Pike  himself  was  laboring  at  the  time  that 
he  was  on  the  Arkansas,  under  the  same  mistake, 
and  found  himself  on  the  Rio  Del  Norte,  in  the 
Spanish  country,  to  his  great  regret,  and  contrary  to 
his  intentions.  They,  therefore,  aimed  to  follow  the 
trail  of  Pike's  company,  as  it  would  lead  them  to 
the  source  of  Red  river,  whence  they  would  cross 
into  New  Mexico.  As  it  was  summer  season, 
Workman  and  Spencer  fared  much  better  than  they 
would,  if  it  had  been  winter.  They  traveled  all  day 
when  they  thought  it  safe  to  do  so,  and  killed  no 
more  game  than  was  necessary  to  supply  them  with 
provisions.  As  they  approached  the  source  of  the 
Arkansas,  the  altitude  of  the  country  seemed  to  be 
very  great,  and  there  were  a  number  of  peaks  of 
vast  elevation,  that  were  nearly  all  the  time  to  be 


152  THE     LOST     TRAPPERft. 

Been,  distinctly  covered  with  soiow.  The  conn^ 
was  generally  destitute  of  timber,  except  here  and 
there  clumps  of  trees,  that  were  a  variety  of  pines 
Some  cedar  was  also  to  be  seen. 

In  giving  an  account  of  the  ramblings  of  these 
two  trappers  in  this  terra  incognita,  it  is  proper  to 
state  that  they  ceased  to  make  notes  of  the  eventa 
of  their  travelings.  They  found  it  inconvenient, 
and  it  consumed  time.  Indeed  they  had  not  paper 
nor  the  disposition.  As  they  were  anxious  to  ex 
tricate  themselves  from  those  labyrinths  in  which 
they  had  been  entangled  so  long,  they  thought  but 
little  about  enlightening  the  minds  of  others,  es- 
pecially as  they  thought  it  very  doubtful  whether 
they  would  ever  again  reach  the  abodes  of  civiliza- 
tion. All  the  facts,  therefore,  which  they  were  en- 
abled to  furnish,  connected  \vith  this  part  of  their 
expedition,  were  drawn  from  memory,  and  although 
interesting,  they  must  constitute  but  a  small  amount 
of  that  kind  of  valuable  information  which  a  jour- 
nal faithfully  kept  would  have  furnished  about  a 
region  and  its  inhabitants,  of  which,  eves  yet,  but 
little  is  known. 

They  represent  beaver,  as  they  ascended  this 
river,  as  very  abundant,  frequently  furnishing  their 
principal  food.  As  they  had  no  traps,  they  used 
their  rifles  to  procure  them.  Another  article  of 
food  was  w^hat  is  commonly  called  mountain  mut 
ton,  which  is  very  delicate  and  sweet.  It  is  the 
flesh  of  the  mountain  sheep,  which  is  variously 
called  the  big-horn  by  the  trappers,  the  asahto  b> 
die  Mandans,  and  the  argali  and  ibex  by  others. 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  158 

They  go  in  flocks,  and  generally  frequent  the  cliffs 
of  the  mountains,  and  if  they  are  alarmed  in  the 
vidleys,  into  which  they  sometimes  descend,  they 
escape  to  the  highest  precipices,  where  they  in- 
dulge their  curiosity  by  gazing  on  all  below  them. 
They  generally  seek  the  places  among  the  rocks 
that  are  the  most  inaccessible  to  man.  They  are 
said  not  to  be  very  wild,  and  to  fall  far  behind  the 
antelope  in  the  grace,  and  ease,  and  fleetness  with 
which  the  latter  animal  moves  over  the  ground.  A 
little  caution  on  the  part  of  the  hunter  enables  him 
to  get  within  shot  of  it,  when  it  is  on  ground  on 
which  he  can  approach  it.  It  is  called  the  big- 
horn from  its  horns,  which  are  very  large,  and 
twisted  like  those  of  a  ram.  They  are  very  long 
also,  and  a  gentleman  now  living  in  Missouri  in- 
formed me  that  he  had  seen  them  used  by  the 
Upper  Nez  Pierces  for  the  purpose  of  blowing 
The  big-horn  has  short  hair  like  a  deer,  and  re- 
sembles it  in  shape,  except  as  to  its  head  and  horns, 
which  resemble  those  of  a  sheep.  It  abounds  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  the  sources  of  the  Mis- 
souri and  the  Columbia  to  California.  It  is  of  the 
size  of  a  large  deer,  and  the  horns  of  a  full-grown, 
large  male,  are  frequently  three  feet  six  inches 
long,  and  one  foot  and  three  inches  at  the  base 
N>rth  of  the  country  ranged  by  the  big-horn  is 
found  the  woolly  sheep,  which  is  sometimes  con- 
founded with  the  big-horn.  It  is,  however,  a  very 
different  animal,  and  in  its  habits  and  appearance 
resembles  the  goat,  and  more  properly  belongs  to 
that  genua.     Its  covering  is  a  growth  of  long  whit« 


154  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS 

wool,  interspersed  wdth  long  hair.  Like  a  goat,  it 
has  a  beard,  short  legs,  a  deep  belly,  and  is  not 
very  active.  Its  horns,  which  are  from  four  to  six 
inches  long,  have  a  polished  surface,  and  are  very 
black.  They  are  by  no  means  very  abundant,  and 
not  much  can  be  said  in  favor  of  their  flesh  as  an 
article  of  diet.  The  trappers  represent  the  fleece 
of  this  animal  as  exceedingly  fine,  and  would  be 
very  valuable,  if  it  could  be  procured  in  sufficient 
quantities.  The  Flat-head  Indians  are  said  to  use 
the  skins  of  these  animals  for  purposes  of  clothing. 
The  flocks  of  the  big-horn  seen  by  Workman  and 
Spencer  increased  as  they  approached  the  head  of 
the  Arkansas,  and  could  be  seen  on  the  brow  of 
mountains,  and  often  standing  on  the  edge  of  very 
high  and  shelving  rocks.  They  seemed  to  enjoy  a 
great  deal  of  security  when  they  had  reached  some 
extreme  height,  and  added  much  to  the  wild  and 
imposing  character  of  mountain  scener}'.  When 
they  killed  a  young  one,  which  was  sometimes  the 
case,  they  had  a  fine  repast,  as  its  flesh  was  very 
tender  as  well  as  fat. 

It  was  when  Spencer  was  making  an  efibrt  to 
shoot  a  "  mountain  mutton"  that  he  sustained  an 
injur}^  in  one  of  his  feet  that  caused  them  to  sus- 
pend their  wanderings  for  two  weeks.  It  was  in 
the  neighborhood,  as  they  believed,  of  the  head 
springs  of  the  river  whose  courses  they  had  been 
following  so  long  and  so  faithfully.  This  interrup- 
tion caused  them  to  select  a  clump  of  pines,  in 
which  they  fixed  up  a  lodge  on  such  a  plan  as  to 
defend  themselves  with  more  success,  if  they  should 


THE     LOST    TRAPPERS  155 

be  ittulesi-ed  by  savages.  Here  they  whiled  away 
the  slow  revolving  hours  of  twelve  or  fifteen  long 
summer  days,  devising  every  plan  "  to  kill  time" 
of  which  they  could  think,  and  which  they  could 
safely  adopt.  Every  circumstance  seemed  to  com- 
bine to  make  time  irksome  and  tedious.  They 
were  lost  in  their  ovi  n  minds  as  to  their  precise  lo- 
cality. They  had  abandoned  all  hope  of  seeing 
the  country  from  which  they  had  set  out.  They 
were  seeking  safety  from  the  savages  by  betaking 
themselves  to  a  countr}^,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
could  not  boast  of  a  very  great  degree  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  were  at  that  time  not  very  favorably  dis- 
posed towards  our  citizens.  And  then  they  had 
lost  the  trail  of  Pike's  party,  and  might  not  be  on 
the  right  route,  or  even  any  route,  to  the  Spanish 
country. 

The  sacred  Scriptures  tell  us  that  we  shall  have 
grace  given  us  according  to  our  day  and  trials.  It 
would  seem  that  there  are  latent  energies  in  man, 
which  are  wakened  up  whenever,  and  only  when 
their  exercise  is  necessary,  to  raise  us  above  our 
trials  and  hardships,  or  to  enable  us  to  combat  our 
difficulties  with  success.  These  energies  or  capa- 
bilities of  buffeting  difficulties,  in  the  case  of  some 
men,  may  never  be  developed,  because  they  may 
never  be  surrounded  by  circumstances  that  make 
their  exercise  necessary.  We  are  not,  therefore,  to 
suppose  that  they  did  not  exist,  and  that  such  men, 
under  certain  circumstances,  would  not  also  be  pa- 
tient in  enduring  hardships  and  trials,  and  brave  in 
the  hour  of  danger. 


150  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS 

In  thj  midst  of  their  perplexing  difficulties  the&v 
men  avow  they  kept  in  good  cheer.  Now  and  theij 
Workman  killed  some  game,  as  they  needed  it,  and 
\  was  his  daily  business  to  reconnoitre  the  country 
iround,  to  ascertain  whether  there  was  any  thing 
to  be  seen  calculated  to  awEiken  apprehensions  of 
ianger.  By  means  of  nooses  on  the  end  of  long, 
light  poles,  they  caught  several  birds,  (magpies)  as 
they  thought.  These,  after  cropping  one  of  their 
wings  to  prevent  them  from  flying  ofl*,  they  would 
throw  into  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and  then 
they  would  practice  with  bows  and  arrows  which 
they  made,  trying  to  bring  them  down  in  Indian 
style.  Whilst  Workman  was  beating  about  one 
day  in  the  vicinity  of  their  camp  he  saw  a  huge 
grizzly  bear,  about  the  fourth  of  a  mile  off,  jogging 
along  down  a  small  stream,  and  going  (he  was 
pleased  to  observe)  directly  from  their  CEimp.  They 
had  had  no  thoughts  about  such  unwelcome  visiters, 
as  they  had  obser\^ed  no  signs  of  their  presence  ir 
that  neighborhood. 

These  men  were  now  in  a  region,  as  they  thinl' 
that  gives  rise  to  the  Platte,  the  Yellow  Stone,  the 
great  south-western  tributary'  of  the  Missouri,  the, 
Arkansas,  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and  the  Rio  Colorado 
of  California.  Speaking  in  reference  to  this  par 
ticular  region,  Lieutenant  Pike  says  :  "  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  I  can  take  a  position  in 
the  mountains,  from  whence  I  can  visit  the  source 
of  any  of  these  rivers  in  one  day."  This  asser- 
tion may  be  true,  and  we  do  not  know  that  any 
discoveries  that  have  been  made  prove  it  untrue 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS,  157 

fhere  is  one  thing,  however,  certainly  true,  and  that 
'b,  that  region  to  this  day  remains,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, unexplored ;  and  the  statements  Pike  received, 
And  which  he  seemed  to  credit,  about  some  of  these 
rivers,  were  incorrect,  as  subsequent  discoveries  will 
nhow.  "  By  the  route  of  the  Arkansas  and  the  Rio 
Colorado  of  California,  I  am  confident,"  says  he, 
"in  asserting,  (if  my  information  from  Spanish 
gentlemen  of  intelligence  is  correct),  there  can  be 
established  the  best  communication  on  this  side  of 
the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  between  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans ;  as,  admitting  the  utmost,  the  land 
carriage  would  not  be  more  than  two  hundred 
mites,  and  the  route  may  be  made  quite  as  eligible 
as  our  public  high- ways  over  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains. The  Rio  Colorado  is  to  the  Gulph  of  Cali- 
fornia what  the  Mississippi  is  to  the  Gulph  of  Mex- 
ico, and  is  navigable  for  ships  of  considerable  bur- 
den opposite  to  the  upper  part  of  Sonora."  This 
information,  furnished  Lieutenant  Pike  about  the 
Colorado,  or  Green  river,  as  it  is  now  sometimes 
called,  has  been  proved,  by  subsequent  discoveries, 
to  be  entirely  incorrect.  Its  length  is  about  twelve 
hundred  miles,  eight  hundred  of  which  are  broken 
into  falls  and  rapids,  so  numerous  and  dangerous 
as  to  defy  navigation  in  any  way  whatever.  From 
one  to  two  hundred  miles  of  its  lower  part  is  in  all 
probability  navigable  for  vessels  of  the  larger  class. 
Bat  more  about  the  Rio  Colorado  in  another  place. 
We  have  said  that  Workman  and  Spencer  gave 
it  as  their  opinion,  that  there  is  a  region,  (in  the 
opinion  of  Pike  of  no  great  extent)  which  constitutefl 


158  THE    LOST    TRAFFEftS. 

the  great  fountain  head  of  the  great  rivers  we  »n- 
tioned.  This  region  is  the  most  remarkab  and 
highest  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  is  a  ».d  of 
loft}^  mountains,  covered  with  eternal  snows  It  is 
said  to  be  about  one  hundred  miles  long,  an/  "ibout 
thirty  in  breadth,  and  is  now  called  the  Wi  (-river 
mountains.  Although  Workman  and  Spender  may 
have  wandered  about  in  the  south  extremity  of  what 
is  now  understood  to  be  the  Wind-river  sierra,  yet 
we  think  the  Arkansas  and  the  Rio  Del  Norte  per- 
haps have  their  fountain-heads  further  south.  It  is 
now  well  known  that  the  Columbia,  Colorado,  and 
the  main  affluents  to  the  Missouri,  can  be  traced  to 
this  grand  treasury  of  waters. 

One  of  the  highest  peaks  in  the  Rocky  Mountaind 
is  in  the  Wind-river  range,  and  is  probably  fifteen 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Various 
estimates  have  been  made  of  the  height  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  it  is  believed  that  when  jus- 
tice is  done  to  their  real  altitude,  they  will  be  only 
second  to  the  highest  mountains  on  the  globe. 
Their  height  has  been  diminished  to  the  eye  by  the 
great  elevations  from  which  they  rise.  They  con- 
sist, according  to  Long,  of  ridges,  knobs,  and  peaks, 
variously  disposed.  They  were  called  by  some  of 
the  first  discoverers,  the  Shining  Mountains,  from 
the  fact  that  the  higher  parts  are  covered  with 
perpetual  snows,  which  give  them  a  luminous  and 
brilliant  appearance.  By  the  joint  means  :'f  the 
barometer  and  trigonome  ric  measurement,  one  of 
the  peaks  has  been  ascertained  to  be  twenty-five 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  109 

thousand  feet,  and  there  are  others  of  nearly  the 
same  height  in  the  vicinity. 

Workman  and   Spencer  relate  a   phenomenon, 
that,  at  first  gave  them  much  anxiety  of  mind,  and 
that  was  the  reports  or  singular  explosions  among 
these  mountains,  resembling  heavy  distant  thunder. 
They  could  be  heard  at  all  times  of  the  day  and  night, 
and  more  particularly  in  clear,  calm  weather.     At 
first  they  had  various  conjectures  about  the  cause 
They  thought  at  one  time  it  was  distant  thunder 
and  again  they  supposed  it  to  be  the  report  of  ar 
tillery.     A  third  explanation  was,  that  the  myste 
rious  sounds  were  produced  by  volcanic  irruptions 
The  existence  of  this  phenomenon  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  is  mentioned  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and 
others  who  have  been  in  those  regions.     It  is  a 
mystery,  which  excites  the  admiration  and  awe  of 
the  various  tribes,  and  some  of  them  regard  it  aa 
the  voice  of  the  great  Wacondah,  (Supreme  Being) 
who  holds  his  residence,  as  they  believe,  in  those 
mountains. 

When  Spencer  was  able  to  walk,  the  two  solitary 
trappers,  with  their  rifles  in  their  hands,  struck  out 
for  the  sources  of  the  Del  Norte,  traveling  a  west 
course.  They  state,  that  the  country  through  which 
they  passed  was  generally  mountainous  prairie, 
abounding  in  fountains  and  lakes  and  vast  beds  of 
enow,  that  are  the  sources  of  those  mighty  rivers, 
east  and  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  few 
days'  faithful  journeying  brought  them  to  an  eleva- 
tion in  the  mountains,  where  there  w€is  a  delightful 
spring  of  water,  remarkably  pure  and  cold.     It     i 


180  '^       TBE    LOST    TBAPPERS. 

A  west  course;  and  this,  in  their  view,  must  be  the 
source  of  the  Del  Norte.  Now  their  hearts  were 
glad,  as  they  fancied  they  had  struck  a  stream  whicli 
would  lead  them  out  of  the  extensive  wdlderness  ia 
which  they  had  been  lost  so  long  a  time.  Here  1 
would  remark,  the  subsequent  history  of  these  two 
wanderers  will  show,  they  were  again  mistaken. 
The  bubbling  fountain  which  they  supposed  to  be 
the  source  of  the  Del  Norte,  was  one  of  the  many 
fountains  of  the  Colorado.  They  followed  a  small 
streamlet,  imtil  it  swelled  into  a  mighty  river,  that 
dashes  its  waters  against  rocks  and  precipices,  and 
rolls  on  and  widens  and  deepens,  for  more  than  a 
thousand  miles.  When  the  stream  acquired  a 
magnitude  that,  they  thought,  would  justify  it, 
the  went  to  work  with  a  light  axe,  which  they  had 
retained,  and  constructed  a  small  canoe,  which  they 
hoped,  would  save  them  many  a  long  and  weary 
tramp,  in  those  Alpine  regions.  Whilst  Spencer 
was  making  this  little  craft.  Workman  consumed  a 
day  in  examining  the  river,  to  ascertain  if  it  was 
navigable.  He  reported  that  he  had  reached  a  very 
high  point  near  the  river,  from  which  he  had  a  most 
delightful  view  of  its  banks  and  course ;  and  that 
its  surface  seemed  to  be  remarkably  placid  and 
free  from  falls.  Its  banks  were  also  very  low  and 
destitute  of  timber. 

This  discovery  seemed  almost,  in  their  minds,  U* 
put  an  end  to  their  difficulties.  In  a  few  days 
more  they  would  glide  on  the  beautiful  surface  of 
this  peaceftil  river  into  &-  ^  of  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments, which  would  be  a  home  to  them  when  com- 


TBI    LOST    TRArPRRS.  !•! 

pared  vnth  their  present  forlorn  situation.  Bat 
they  were  doomed  to  more  disappointments.  New 
and  fresh  difficulties  and  mazes  were  before  them. 
When  they  had  procured  a  supply  of  meat  that 
would  last  them  several  days,  and  had  put  it  into 
their  little  boat,  they  committed  themselves  to  the 
current.  They  glided  along  in  fine  style  for  the 
first  fifty  miles.  Through  this  distance  a  beautifiil 
undulating  prairie,  without  a  stick  of  timber  for 
many  miles,  stretched  out  from  the  banks  of  the 
river  in  every  direction.  Towards  sun-set,  howevei, 
the  aspect  of  the  country  before  them  began  to  as- 
sume a  wild,  romantic,  and  forbidding  character. 
A  frowning  mountain  enclosed  their  prospect,  and 
seemed  to  hem  in  the  river.  As  they  approached 
this  unexpected  obstruction,  the  surface  of  the  water 
began  to  be  irregular  and  rough.  They  did  not 
think  it  safe  to  travel  after  night-fall ;  they  there- 
fore pulled  to  shore  to  await  the  disclosures  that 
might  be  furnished  by  the  light  of  another  day. 
The  next  morning  very  early,  with  rifles  in  hand, 
they  left  their  canoe  and  walked  ahead  to  gain 
some  point  from  which  they  might  be  able  to  ex- 
amine the  country  and  the  channel  of  the  river, 
and  learn  something  about  both.  After  several 
hours  of  toil  and  ascent,  they  reached  an  elevation 
where  they  had  a  view  of  the  scenery  before  them, 
that  was  wilder  and  more  imposing  than  anything 
they  had  ever  seen  before.  The  bed  of  the  river, 
which  had  generally  been  from  three  to  four  hun- 
dred yards  in  breadth,  was  now  contracted  to  a 
passage  not  more  than  forty  yards  wide,  and  walled 
14 


162  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

up  several  hundred  feet  high  by  tremendous  battle- 
ments of  basaltic  rock.  Through  this  narrow  de- 
file the  river  flowed  almost  with  the  velocity  of  an 
arrow.  Beyond  these  rapids  there  were  eviderlly 
falls,  as  their  tumultuous  roar  could  be  distinclly 
heard,  and  clouds  of  spray  could  be  seen  8usp»  n 
ded  in  the  air.  For  an  hour  or  two  our  trappers 
remained  seated  upon  the  ground,  gazing  with 
mingled  feelings  of  disappointment  and  astonish- 
ment at  this  magnificent  scene. 

At  one  time  the  roaring  of  the  distant  cataract 
would  rise  and  swell  with  the  breeze  that  bore  the 
lulling  sound  to  their  ears.  Again,  as  the  gentle 
gale  would  sink,  the  tumult  of  angry  waters  would 
for  a  while  die  away  in  the  distance.  The  feel- 
ing of  disappointment,  for  a  time,  was  lost  in  those 
of  wonder  and  awe,  and  the  trappers  seemed  to 
forget  their  situation,  as  they  mused  upon  the  pic- 
turesqueness  and  romance  of  this  exhibition  of 
nature.  Seeing  satisfactorily  that  quick  destruc- 
tion awaited  them  if  they  should  attempt  to  pass 
the  narrow  defile,  they  returned  to  their  camp  to 
get  a  few  articles  they  had  left  in  their  canoe,  as 
well  as  some  provisions.  But  when  they  came  in 
view  of  the  place  where  they  had  left  their  canoe 
they  saw  three  savages  in  it,  and  in  the  act  of  push- 
ing it  from  shore.  The  trappers  made  signs  to 
them,  which  seemed  only  to  frighten  them,  and  to 
cause  them  to  make  the  greater  eflfbrt  to  cross  the 
fiver.  Understanding  how  to  manage  such  a  water 
craft,  they  soon  reached  the  opposite  shore.  As 
^key  now  felt  secure,  they  paused  on  the  bank  tn 


THB    LOST    TRAPPERS  16S 

gaze  with  curiosity  and  surprise  at  the  two  men, 
when  Workman  raised  his  rifle  and  fired  it  towards 
them.  The  report  of  his  gun  and  the  sight  of  the 
fire  struck  a  panic  among  them,  that  caused  them 
to  break  and  run.  The  trappers  were  particularly 
concerned  about  their  axe,  which  they  supposed 
was  in  the  canoe,  and  was  of  course  taken  away 
but  fortunately  they  had  left  it  on  the  land,  and  it 
had  not  been  seen  by  the  savages.  Who  these 
savages  were,  and  how  savage  they  were,  the  trap- 
pers were  entirely  ignorant,  as  they  could  not  be 
brought  to  a  parley.  Their  bodies  were  nearly 
naked,  and  they  presented  a  most  degraded  appear- 
ance. They  belonged,  perhaps,  to  a  tribe  of  "  les 
dignes  de  pitie^^'*  (objects  of  pity),  as  such  Indians 
are  sometimes  called,  who  constitute  a  mere  link 
between  human  nature  and  the  brute. 

Workman  and  Spencer  now  resumed  their  jour 
neyings  over  land,  aiming  to  follow  the  river  as 
near  as  they  could.  When  they  had  passed  the 
narrow  passage,  the  Colorado  expanded  again  to 
its  usual  breadth,  and  poured  over  falls  about  forty 
feet  high.  The  river  in  the  falls  was  full  of  large 
rock,  many  of  which  projected  above  the  surface 
of  the  water.  Against  these  the  waters  of  this 
great  river  dashed,  and  rebounded,  and  boiled  up, 
until  the  whole  surface  seemed  to  be  in  a  perfect 
rage.  After  spending  the  day  in  clambering  the 
sides  of  very  rough  mountains,  and  winding  round 
and  round  to  avoid  obstructions  and  to  find  ground 
on  which  they  could  travel,  they  succeeded  in 
getting    below  the  falls,  where    the    river    again 


154  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

assumed  a  tranquil  and  pla«fd  surface,  and  a  bean< 
tiful  and  delightful  prairie  country  came  to  the  very 
banks.  These  men  would  have  made  another  ca- 
noe and  tried  it  again,  but  there  was  no  suitable 
timber,  and  they  thought  it  the  better  policy  to  as- 
certain something  more  about  the  navigation,  be- 
fore they  should  again  commit  themselves  to  it* 
uncertain  current.  They  therefore  followed  it  from 
day  to  day,  as  near  as  they  could  get  to  its  banks, 
until  they  were  satisfied  that  it  was  filled  with 
rapids,  and  rocks,  and  other  obstructions,  that  not 
only  rendered  the  navigation  unsafe,  but  utterly 
unpossible.  Necessity,  therefore,  reconciled  them 
to  the  toil  of  traveling  on  foot.  They  kept  near 
the  river,  resolved  to  follow  it,  let  it  take  them  where 
it  might.  The  country  was  sometimes  very  broken 
and  mountainous,  and  very  often  they  would  have 
to  turn  back  and  retrace  their  steps,  and  make  a 
circuit  of  several  miles  to  find  a  way  through 
which  they  could  pass.  They  frequently  passed 
places  where  for  several  miles  the  banks  rose  up 
into  precipices  of  an  awful  height,  from  the  tops  of 
which  they  sometimes  took  a  view  of  the  river  be- 
low, as  it  whirled,  and  dashed  about,  and  foamed, 
and  struck  the  basaltic  rock,  impatient,  furious  and 
wild.  These  men  give  it  as  their  opinion  that  the 
scenery  of  the  Rio  Colorado  is  equal,  perhaps,  to 
that  of  any  other  part  of  North  America.  Their 
statements  are  very  applicable  to  the  Snake  river 
Bcenerj^  which  is  also  represented  as  being  wild 
and  grand  beyond  description.  Indeed  it  may  be 
noticed  sa  a  characteristic  of  the  rivers  west  of  the 


THE    LOST    TRAPPEKS.  l6d 

Rocky  Mountains,  that  they  are  marked  by  a  wdld 
majesty,  produced  by  the  frequent  recurrence  of  rocks 
and  rapids,  that  place  them  in  striking  contrast 
to  the  smoothness  and  placidity  of  the  streams  east 
of  said  mountains.  This  distinction  in  favor  of  the 
eastern  rivers  v^^ill  operate  against  the  navigation 
of  the  western  waters,  and,  of  course,  against  the 
interests  of  the  country  through  which  they  pass,  if 
those  countries  should  ever  be  settled  by  a  civilized 
people 

Having  descended  this  river  for  several  hundred 
miles,  still  believing  it  to  be  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and 
wondering  why  they  had  not  reached  Santa  Fe, 
they  came  to  a  place  which  seemed  to  have  been 
much  used  as  a  crossing.  There  were  a  great  many 
signs  of  horses  and  mules,  but  they  were  old,  and 
all  pointing  an  east  course.  Indeed  the  signs  were 
so  numerous  that  Workman  and  Spencer  conjec- 
tured there  must  have  been  several  thousand. 
Without  the  least  hesitation  the  trappers  resolved 
to  follow  this  great  trail,  and  to  take  the  way  the 
Bigns  indicated  the  last  caravan  had  gone.  They 
felt  confident  that  this  trail  had  been  made  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  not  by  Indians.  They  traveled  it  two 
days,  when  they  met  a  caravan  of  Spaniards  (forty 
or  fifty)  on  the  trail,  but  going  an  opposite  direc- 
tion. They  at  first  entertained  fears  they  were  In- 
dians, but  when  they  found  out  they  were  Span- 
iards, their  joy  was  too  great  to  be  described.  Nei- 
ther of  the  trappers  could  speak  the  Spanish 
language,  but  there  wac  an  Englishman  in  the 
caravan,  and  one  or  two  Spaniards  who  could 


106  THE     LOST     TRAPPERS. 

epeak  the  English   language  with  some  fluenc]^ 
They  therefore  found  no  difficulty  in  communica» 
ting  to  the  company  what  had  been  their  history  in 
the  mountains,  and   the  fact  that  they  were  now 
seeking  security  in  their  country. 

The  caravan  then  selected  a  suitable  place  for 
encampment,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  some 
plan  for  the  protection  of  the  two  men  who  h.id 
thrown  themselves  upon  their  mercy,  for  these  Span- 
iards were,  by  no  means,  insensible  as  to  their  situa- 
tion. Until  midnight  they  listened  with  thrilling 
interest  to  the  details,  as  the  trappers  gave  them, 
of  their  trials  and  hardships  since  they  had  left  the 
United  States.  They  informed  Workman  and 
Spencer  that  the  river  which  they  had  descended 
was  the  Rio  Colorado,  and  that  they  were  about 
five  hundred  miles  from  Santa  Fe.  In  passing  over 
that  distance  they  had  met  with  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  from  the  Indians,  and  they  gave  it  as  their 
opinion,  that  the  two  trappers  could  not  pass 
through  to  Santa  Fe  wdthout  being  cut  off  by  the 
savages. 

The  caravan  was  going  towards  Puebla  de  los 
Angelos,  a  town  in  Upper  California,  near  the 
coast  of  the  Pacific,  in  which  region  of  country 
they  expected  to  be  engaged  in  trading  until  the 
following  spring,  when  they  expected  to  return  to 
Santa  Fe  with  horses  and  mules.  Part  of  the 
company  were  men  who  lived  in  Upper  California, 
but  they  had  accompanied  a  caravan  the  last 
Bpring  to  Santa  Fe,  and  were  now  returning  home. 
Workman  and  Spencer  determined  to  join  the  com' 


THB    LOST     TBAPPBSS.  167 

pany  and  go  to  California,  where  they  would  spend 
the  approaching  winter,  and  in  the  spring  retort 
with  them  to  New  Mexico,  whence  they  hoped 
some  opportunity  would  present  itself  of  getting 
back  to  the  United  States.  They  were  therefore 
legularly  taken  into  the  service  of  the  company, 
which  was  under  the  direction  of  a  captain,  and 
furnished  with  mules  and  such  articles  as  they 
needed. 

The  company  next  morning  set  out,  and  were 
about  twenty  days'  travel  from  San  Gabriel,  on  the 
Bay  of  San  Pedro.  In  passing  over  this  distance 
a  great  deal  of  the  road  was  very  rocky  and  rough. 
The  season  was  dry  (a  circumstance,  by  no  means 
unusual  in  that  country),  and  the  company  had 
often  to  perform  long  and  toilsome  journies  before 
they  could  reach  water.  In  one  or  two  cases  the  dis- 
tance from  one  watering  place  to  another  was  not 
less  than  one  hundred  miles,  and  very  often  from 
thirty  to  fifty  The  surface  of  the  country  was  often, 
too,  a  bed  of  sand,  which  furnished  nothing  to  sus- 
tain their  mules.  It  will  therefore  be  seen  that 
there  are  through  this  country  regular  jornadas  (as 
the  Spaniards  call  them)  and  stages  where  grass 
and  water  can  be  had  for  caravans,  whilst  the  coun- 
try intervening  is  almost  as  desolate  as  the  Sahara 
of  Africa.  By  making  these  regular  jornadas  or  day'o 
journey  and  reaching  those  regular  stages,  cara- 
vans are  able  to  make  their  way  through  from  Cali- 
fornia to  Santa  Fe.  If  a  caravan  breaks  this 
regular  chain  of  stages,  their  toils  and  sufferingi) 
are  often  very  severe.    These  caravans  are  often 


ins  THE    LOST    TRAPPBBf. 

ery  great,  numbering  sometimes  several  thousand 
horses  and  mules,  which  sweep  away  all  the  gras* 
near  their  route,  and  leave  the  earth  very  bare.  Am 
they  journeyed  along,  Workman  and  Spencer  ob- 
served the  bones  of  animals  scattered  about  in 
great  profusion  in  some  places,  and  upon  asking  fc 
an  explanation,  they  were  informed  that  they  wer 
the  bones  of  horses  and  mules,  that  were  lost  b^ 
caravans  from  a  disease  very  common  in  that  regioi 
called  the  "  foot  evil,"  which  sometimes  causes  thf 
loss  of  whole  bands  of  horses  and  mules.  It  seenu 
to  be  aggravated,  if  not  really  created  by  traveling 
over  hot-sandy  plains  and  deserts,  and  suffering 
from  want  of  water.  Aflei  crossing  the  Colorado 
and  traveling  north-west  several  days,  the  company 
turned  and  traveled  a  south-west  course  until  they 
reached  the  Spanish  towns  on  the  Pacific.  On  the 
right  of  their  route,  very  high  mountains  were  all 
the  time  visible,  the  peaks  of  which  were  white 
♦  with  snow.  This  range  of  mountains,  (no  doubt 
what  is  now  called  the  Wahsatch  Mountains) 
seemed  to  be  infested  with  predatory  bands  of  In- 
dians, whose  regular  business  was  to  beset  the 
route  of  these  caravans  for  the  purpose  of  plunder. 
As  this  company  passed,  they  could  be  frequently 
seen  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  peering  over  the 
plains,  and  reconnoitering  their  movements.  We 
would  briefly  state,  that  our  two  trappers  spent  the 
winter  of  1809  in  Upper  California,  which  time 
Workman  spent  in  examining  the  country  and  trav- 
eling from  place  to  place  to  gather  all  the  informa- 
tion he  could  of  a  country,  about  which  our  citizeiif 


rOB    LOST    TlAPPBBl.  I6i 

at  that  time  knew  but  little  or  nothing.  As  it  ^ 
our  olyect  in  another  part  of  this  volume,  to  give  a 
short,  but  we  hope  a  faithful  account  of  California, 
it  is  our  intention  to  interweave  all  the  statements 
of  Workman  in  that  account.  We  will,  therefore, 
suspend  for  the  present,  his  descriptions  of  Califor- 
nia, that  they  may  appear  in  a  more  proper  place, 
and  we  will  ask  the  reader  to  go  with  us  to  Santa 
Fe,  where  in  the  summer  of  1810,  we  find  our  two 
mountaineers  and  trappers  safely  landed,  with  a 
\arge  caravan  of  mules  and  horses,  both  in  fin* 
health  and  good  cheer. 


CHAPTER    XV 

V[»  two  trappers  try  their  luck  in  Santa  Fe  for  several  years — Sarta  P« 
trade  opens — An  opportuniiy  to  return  to  the  Statea — An  escort  aent  bv 
the  Governor  of  Santa  Fe — Captain  Viscano's  dreadful  fight  with  the 
Camanches  on  the  Semirone — Several  killed  on  both  sides — The  noc 
tumal  tramp  express  to  Captain  Riley  on  the  Arkansas — Mysterious 
horse  and  thousands  of  mysteries— A  bold  attempt,  result  amusing. 

Workman  and  Spencer  being  men  without  fami- 
lies in  the  States,  and  being  foiled  thus  far  in  their 
efforts  to  make  fortunes,  resolved  to  try  their  luck 
in  Santa  Fe,  as  gold  and  silver  seemed  to  be  very 
abundant.  They,  therefore,  took  up  their  abode  at 
the  seat  of  government  (Santa  Fe)  with  the  purpose 
of  remaining  there  for  several  years,  if  their  success 
should  justify  it,  and  when  they  had  amassed  a  suf- 
ficiency of  the  precious  metals,  they  thought  of  re- 
turning to  the  United  States,  if  a  safe  opportunity 
should  present  itself.  This  shows  how  men  become 
weaned  from  the  habitudes  of  civilized  and  culti- 
vated society,  and  are  so  charmed  with  the  wild 
adventure  connected  with  savage  life,  that  they  are 
seldom  satisfied,  unless  they  are  braving  the  toils 
and  difficulties  of  the  wilderness,  and  realising  iM  the 
excitement  belonging  to  such  a  life.  Workman  and 
Spencer  remained  in  and  about  Santa  Fe,  for  fifteen 
years,  and  had  abandoned  all  thought  of  regaining 
(170) 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS  171 

the  place  of  their  nativity.  But  the  Santa  Fe  trade 
was  opened  up,  and  large  companies  every  spring 
crossed  the  plains  from  Missouri  to  New  Mexico, 
with  goods  which  they  exchanged  at  a  great  profit  for 
gold  and  silver.  One  of  the  first  of  these  large  com- 
panies was  under  the  direction  of  Captain  Means, 
who  vdth  part  of  his  men  were  killed  by  the  Caman- 
ches,  whilst  the  others  barely  escaped  with  their 
lives,  leaving  everything  they  had,  to  be  carried  oflf 
by  these  ruthless  savages.  In  consequence  of  this 
disaster,  the  General  Government  sent  a  company 
headed  by  Captain  Riley,  to  escort  the  next  trading 
expedition,  the  following  spring,  over  all  the  dan- 
gerous ground  to  the  Big  Arkansas,  where  Captain 
Riley  was  ordered  to  remain  until  a  specified  time, 
awaiting  the  return  of  the  trading  company  to  con- 
duct them  back  to  the  States.  This  company  readied 
Santa  Fe  in  safety,  and  after  disposing  of  their 
goods  in  that  mart,  turned  their  faces  towards  the 
States.  They  were  fortunate  enough  to  meet  with 
an  opportunity  to  go  under  the  protection  of  the 
Spanish  government,  a  circumstance  that  waa 
brought  about  in  this  way.  Some  half  a  dozen  of 
wealthy  Spaniards  residing  in  Santa  Fe  had  been 
found  guilty  of  some  treasonable  designs  against 
that  government,  and  had  the  privilege  of  leaving 
tne  country  in  so  many  days,  or  being  hung.  They 
of  course  preferred  the  former  kind  of  punishment 
and  determined  to  go  with  their  families  and  fortune? 
to  the  States.  The  governor  of  Santa  Fe,  therefore 
ordered  a  Captain  Viscarro  wdth  sixty  men,  ten  of 
whom  were    brave  Purbulo   Indians,  living  neaj 


173  THE    LOST    TRAPPERI. 

Santi  Fe,  to  conduct  these  exiles  and  the  companr 
until  they  should  meet  Captain  Riley  on  the  Bi| 
Arkansas,  from  which  point  he  was  to  return  to  Nev 
Mexico.  Workman  and  Spencer,  when  they  sa'vi 
this  very  safe  opportunity  of  getting  back  to  the 
States,  felt  the  love  of  their  native  land,  which  had 
been  almost  extinct,  revive  in  their  hearts,  and  they 
determined  to  join  the  party  on  their  homeward 
route. 

They  had  been  quite  successful  whilst  in  New 
Mexico  in  advancing  their  fortunes,  and  now  they 
would  make  an  effort  to  return  to  renew  their  ac- 
quaintance with  those  whom  they  once  knew,  but 
from  whose  memory  all  recollection  of  them  had 
now  perhaps  passed  away,  as  of  those  long  ago 
dead  and  gone.  At  that  time,  a  trip  from 
Santa  Fe  was  very  dangerous,  and  the  savages 
had  been  very  successful  in  frightening  the  mules 
of  caravans,  and  causing  them  to  breeik  loose  and 
run  off.  But  the  company  got  along  very  smoothly 
until  they  were  within  sixty  miles  of  the  Arkansas 

When  near  the  Semirone  river,  and  just  when 
the  company  were  driving  up  to  a  spring  around 
which  they  intended  to  encamp  that  night,  a  large 
partj  of  Indians  on  foot,  perhaps  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  emerged  from  a  covert,  and  arrayed  them- 
selves on  open  ground,  in  a  right  line  facing  the 
traders.  "What  tribe  are  they  ?"  was  a  question 
that  was  quickly  asked,  and  as  quickly  passed 
around  the  camp.  "  Camanche,"  was  the  answer 
firom  oae  who  knew.  And  that  was  enough,  for 
the  company  knew  what  they  were  to  expect.     In 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  178 

the  Camanche  Indian  is  embodied  every  trait  of  a 
savage,  whose  hand  is  rjdsed  against  every  man> 
and  who  is  even  more  blood-thirsty  than  the  gangs 
of  hungry  wolves  that  roam  over  those  extensive 
plains.  They  made  known  their  hostile  feelings, 
and  challenged  the  traders  by  brandishing  and 
flourishing  their  arms,  and  acting  the  mad  buffalo, 
which  consists  in  gathering  the  dust  in  one  hand 
and  then  in  the  other,  and  throwing  it  into  the  air, 
after  the  manner  of  that  animal  when  he  is  pro- 
voking one  of  his  peers  to  combat.  So  menacing 
was  their  aspect,  that  the  traders  hesitated  as  to 
holding  a  parley  with  them,  and  indeed  few,  if  any, 
were  willing  to  undertake  it. 

Finally,  one  of  the  company  went  out,  and  was 
met  half  way  by  one  of  the  Camanches,  with  arms 
in  one  hand  and  his  cross  in  the  other.  But  they 
had  scarcely  met  before  two  other  Camanches 
broke  the  line  and  dashed  up  to  the  party.  This 
movement  being  not  understood  by  the  traders, 
two  of  them,  Barnes  and  Wallace,  ran  up  to  protect 
their  man,  if  it  should  be  necessary.  A  momentary 
and  fearful  pause  ensued.  The  parties  stood  for 
the  half  of  a  minute  in  perfect  silence,  keenly  eye- 
ing each  other,  with  their  fingers  upon  the  triggers 
of  their  guns.  The  savages  seemed  eager  to  begin 
the  work,  and  but  for  one  circumstance  the  con* 
batants,  the  next  moment,  would  have  been  thrown 
into  dreadful  conflict.  That  circumstance  w&s  this. 
The  ten  Purbuloes  who,  under  the  Spanish  captain, 
Viscarro,  were  accompanying  the  traders  to  Big 
Arkansas  river,  and  who  had  gone  out  on  a  hun 


174  TBE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

that  afternoon,  were  at  that  time  near  at  hand 
opon  a  ridge,  skinning  and  cutting  up  a  bulTalo 
which  they  had  killed.  They  had  a  full  and  lair 
view  of  all  that  was  taking  place  below  them,  and 
abruptly  leaving  the  carcass  of  the  buffalo,  they 
raised  a  dreadful  war-shout,  and  came  bounding 
down  the  hill,  and  charging  and  pitching  like  mad 
horses,  and  rushed  up  into  the  very  faces  of  the 
Camanches. 

The  sudden  and  unexpected  sight  of  these  braves 
perfectly  electrified  the  Camanches ;  not  that  they 
dreaded  ten  Pui-buloes,  but  because  they  conjectured 
that  a  party  (perhaps  large)  of  that  war-like  tribe 
were  concealed  behind  the  adjacent  ridge.  One  of 
the  Purbuloes,  a  gsjne  youth  about  sixteen,  obser- 
ving a  very  gaudy  pair  of  socks  under  the  belt  of  a 
Camanche,  laid  violent  hands  upon  them,  and  by 
way  of  pay  gave  the  owner  of  them  a  tremendous 
kick  in  the  posteriors,  that  nearly  lifted  him  off*  the 
ground.  The  insult  was  received  by  the  crest- 
fallen Camanche  without  resistance. 

Balked  in  their  designs  by  the  circumstance  just 
mentioned,  the  Camanches  began  to  make  profes- 
sions of  friendship,  in  which  some  of  the  traders 
were  foolish  enough  to  confide.  Indeed  the  whole 
company,  with  a  few  honorable  exceptions,  were 
overawed  by  the  savage  appearance  and  disposition 
of  the  Camanches.  This  the  Purbuloes  perceived 
with  surprise  and  great  indignation.  They  assured 
their  partj^  that  the  Camanches  intended  to  attack 
them,  and  that  their  only  alternative  was  to  fight. 
The   Spaniards  under   Captain  Viscarro   excused 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  174 

themselves  by  stating  that  they  had  recently  en- 
tered into  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Camancbes, 
and  did  not  wish  to  violate  their  faith.  The  Pur- 
buloes  knew  this  was  only  an  excuse,  and  there- 
fore charged  them  with  cowardice.  They  told 
Captain  Viscarro  that  they  would  no  longer  submit 
to  him  as  an  officer,  for  he  had  not  the  bravery  of 
a  squaw.  Becoming  furious,  they  threw  their 
shields  upon  the  ground,  by  way  of  appeal  to  the 
courage  of  the  company,  and  proclaimed  them- 
selves ready  to  fight  without  any  thing  to  defend 
them  against  the  darts  of  the  enemy.  All  this,  how- 
ever, had  no  effect  upon  their  quailing,  faltering 
spirits.  They  did  not  intend  to  strike  the  first 
blow,  let  the  provocation  be  any  thing  short  of  a 
real  attack.  This  was  discovered  by  the  Caman- 
cbes, and  prompted  them  to  come  nearer  the  com- 
pany, and  to  be  more  impudent.  In  fact,  in  theii 
reprehensible  timidity,  the  company  had  permittCv] 
the  daring  Camanches  to  mix  among  them  to  some 
extent.  The  Purbuloes  kept  their  eyes  constantly 
upon  them,  and  only  grew  the  more  impatient,  as 
they  observed  that  the  Camanches  were  waiting  for 
a  favorable  opportunity  to  make  an  assault.  One 
of  them,  a  tall,  stalwart  and  distinguished  warrior, 
perceiving  something  among  the  enemy  very  sus- 
picious, sprang  to  his  feet  and  seemed  to  look  wild 
Seizing  a  moment  when  the  eyes  of  the  company 
were  generally  turned  away  from  them,  the  Caman- 
ches fired,  and  in  a  kind  of  headlong  hurry  ran 
across  a  creek  that  was  near  the  camp  to  reload. 
The  worst  predictions  of  the  heroic  Purbuloes  were 


17d  THE    LOST    TBAPPBRS 

realized.  Four  of  their  greatest  warriors  fell  dead, 
and  a  number  of  the  tame  and  spiritless  Spaniards 
A  great  uproar  now  prevailed.  Some  flew  to  their 
frightened  mules,  to  prevent  them  from  breaking 
loose,  some  flew  to  their  arms,  and  some,  there  is 
reason  to  believe,  flew  to  the  wagons  for  safety. 
As  the  Camanches  crossed  the  creek,  one  of  their 
number  received  a  ball  from  the  rifle  of  Workman, 
who  pulled  the  savage  to  the  giound  by  his  long 
hair  and  passed  on.  Although  mortally  wounded, 
and  unable  to  get  upon  his  feet,  the  indomitable 
Camanche,  as  he  lay  upon  the  ground,  reloaded  hia 
gun,  and  as  one  of  Captain  Viscarro's  sergeants 
rode  up  with  sword  in  hand  to  dispatch  him,  shot 
him  between  the  eyes.  The  Spaniard  instantly 
fell  lifeless  from  his  horse.  The  six  surviving  Pur- 
buloes,  deeply  mortified  at  the  miserable  manage- 
ment of  the  company,  would  not  join  in  the  fight, 
but  remained  near  their  dead  brothers,  chagrined, 
difcgusted,  and  filled  with  sullen  rage.  The  Caman- 
ches had  but  two  or  three  rounds  of  balls  and  pow- 
der, which  they  speedily  used,  and  then  betook 
themselves  to  flight.  Sixteen  of  the  traders  fol- 
lowed them.  But  a  few  of  them,  however,  had  the 
presence  of  mind  to  get  their  horses,  and  they 
found  that  the  Indians  could  outleg  them. 

Away  they  went  on  foot,  and  on  horseback,  and 
•hooting  as  they  went.  Among  those  in  the  chase 
waa  a  Spanisird  on  horseback,  but  he  had  no  arms 
and  he  did  not  appear  to  desire  any ;  his  aim  and 
tmsiness  leing  to  rob  the  slain  and  to  get  the  spoils. 
He  had  collected  a  sufficient  number  of  bowi,  and 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  I77 

arrows,  and  buffalo  robes,  and  blankets,  and  trinkets 
and  trumpery  of  all  sorts,  to  completely  cover  and 
conceal  the  horse  and  his  rider.  Barnes  and  Wal- 
lace, (old  Wallace  as  he  was  called)  of  whose  bra- 
very we  have  sufficient  proofs,  of  course  were  in  the 
number.  The  former  was  well  mounted.  Wallace 
was  in  his  glory,  but  he  was  on  foot,  and  an  old 
man  in  the  bargain.  He  applied  to  the  Spaniard 
for  the  use  of  his  steed  :  but  the  Spaniard  thought 
too  much  of  his  plunder,  to  part  with  the  means  of 
conveying  it  to  the  camp.  Barnes  thought  the 
emergency  would  justify  Wallace  in  taking  the 
horse,  vi  et  armis.  The  suggestion  was  scarcely 
made  before  it  was  carried  into  effect.  In  a  moment 
the  venal  Spaniard  came  heels  over  head,  upon  the 
ground,  with  his  bows  and  arrows,  and  dry  buffalo 
skins,  and  trinkets  and  trumpery  of  all  sorts  rattling 
around  his  ears,  and  in  a  moment  Wallace  was  on 
his  horse  and  away.  As  the  affair  began  between 
sunset  and  dark,  nightfall  soon  came  on,  and  all  the 
pursuers  turned  back  to  the  camp,  but  Wallace  and 
Barnes.  They  held  on  until  nine  or  ten  o'clock, 
shooting  and  pursuing,  and  pursuing  and  shooting ; 
until  their  guns  became  so  hot  by  frequent  firing, 
and  so  dirty,  they  were  compelled  to  desist.  The 
moon  shone  as  bright  as  day,  and  an  open  and  ex- 
tensive plain  spread  around.  Barnes  and  Wallace 
thought,  they  followed  the  Indians  for  seven  or  eight 
miles,  and  they  stated  that  they  retreated  all  that 
distance,  in  a  right  line,  nor  was  there  at  any  time 
any  confusion,  or  breaking  of  ranks.  They  farther 
reported,  that  they  saw  at  some  distance  off,  what 


178  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

they  believed  to  be  another  party  of  Indi&ns,  tkfti 
seemed  to  be  very  large.  On  the  part  of  the  Ca- 
manches  this  was  a  very  unsuccessful  adstnturci 
and  dearly  did  they  pay  for  their  impudence.  They 
were  most  sadly  drubbed,  and  lost  many  of  theii 
greatest  warriors,  as  was  ascertained  the  foil  v.  "vy- 
ing year. 

The  night  passed,  not,  however,  with  its  usut 
rest  and  repose.  The  company  had  a  sample  of 
Indian  fighting,  Indian  treachery  and  Indian  cruelty 
which  was  by  no  means  calculated  to  invite  sleep 
They  were  at  that  time  in  a  country  infested  by 
hordes  of  savages  of  the  most  ferocious  character  j 
who  would  perhaps  dog  them  for  hundreds  of  miles. 
They  had  just  had  a  fight  with  a  party  of  them,  and 
other  parties,  perhaps  very  large,  were  in  the 
neighborhood.  The  company  of  men,  sent  by  the 
governor  of  Santa  Fe  under  Capt.  Viscarro,  to  pro- 
tect them  to  the  Big  Arkansas,  had  proved  timid  and 
cowardly  in  the  affray,  that  had  taken  place.  They 
therefore  could  not  safely  depend  upon  them  for  aid 
in  a  difficulty.  Captain  Riley  by  this  time  had  in 
all  probability  left  Big  Arkansas  and  turned  hia 
forces  towEirds  the  United  States.  They  had  many 
and  strong  reasons  to  fear,  that  they  would  be  un- 
protected  throughout  the  whole  of  the  dangeroua 
route,  that  lay  before  them.  The  next  day  the}? 
expected  the  Camanches  to  return  with  renewed 
and  multiplied  forces,  to  slay  and  rob.  Under  these 
circumstances,  and  mth  these  gloomy  prospects  and 
feelings,  the  light  of  the  next  day  dawned  upon  them. 
After  the  fight  on  the  previous  evening,  two  of  the 


THE     LOST    TRAPPERS.  )79 

Camanches  that  were  badly  wounded,  were  seen 
scrambling  along  on  the  ground  to  a  ledge  of 
rocks,  in  which  they  hid  themselves  dui'ing  the 
night.  The  Purbuloes  being  apprised  of  the  fact, 
huriied  to  the  spot  and  found  them.  One  of  them 
was  dead.  The  other  was  living,  and  the  partial 
opportunity  to  sate  their  thirst  for  blood  was  em- 
braced with  savage  greediness.  He  was  dragged 
out  by  the  infuriated  Purbuloes,  and  cut  to  pieces 
Their  scalps  of  course  were  taken.  As  these  crown 
their  original  owners,  they  crown  and  complete  the 
victories  of  those  who  take  them.  But  the  dead 
were  to  be  buried,  this  morning,  and  the  company 
had  to  prepare  for  the  anticipated  difficulties  of  the 
day;  and  these  they  were  afraid  would  be  many 
and  trying. 

Every  arrangement  would  be  made  to  meet  them. 
Accordingly,  after  an  early,  and  we  may  conjecture  a 
hurried  breakfast,  graves  were  dug,  and  the  slain 
were  put  in  the  ground  as  decently  as  circumstan- 
ces would  admit.  In  the  meanwhile  the  mules  and 
horses  were  permitted  to  fill  themselves  with  grass, 
and  then  brought  within  a  circular  fortification 
made  of  the  waggons  and  baggage.  Their  arms 
^ere  put  in  a  state  of  readiness,  and  sentinels 
were  placed  out  on  elevated  points,  to  reconnoitre 
the  surrounding  country,  and  to  report  every  thing 
that  appeared  above  the  verge  of  the  horizon.  The 
lay  passed,  however,  and,  contrary  to  their  calcula- 
tions, they  saw  no  Indians,  but  the  slain  that  lay 
here  and  there,  who,  as  they  were  now  objects  of 
ao  great  terror,  were  still  less,  in  the  estimation  of 


180  THB    LOST    THAPPEftS. 

tke  company,  entitled  to  the  rite  of  sepulture,  bat 
were  doomed  to  lie  on  their  native  plains,  to  feed 
the  hungry  wolf  attracted  that  way  by  the  scent 
of  their  putrescent  bodies.  Although  they  had 
not  been  molested  that  day,  still  the  company 
knew  that  they  were  on  very  dangerous  ground 
as  large  bands  of  hostile  Indians  were  believed 
to  be  hovering  about  their  route,  seeking  a  suit- 
able opportunity  to  make  an  attack.  It  was 
about  sixty  miles  from  Big  Arkansas,  where  it  was 
hoped  Captain  Riley  might  still  be,  awaiting  their 
return,  although  it  was  a  week  past  th«&  time  to 
which  he  v/as  limited,  and  when  he  had  expected 
to  set  out  on  his  return  to  the  United  States. 

As  the  distance  could  be  rode  on  good  horses  in 
a  night,  it  was  proposed  to  send  an  express  to 
Captain  Riley,  (if  he  should  still  be  there),  to  ap- 
prise him  of  their  exposed  situation,  and  to  request 
him  to  wait  until  they  should  come  up.  But  who 
would  undertake  it?  If  the  company  were  in 
danger,  the  express  would  certainly  be  much 
more  so. 

The  route  lay  througYi  the  most  dangerous  part 
of  the  country,  between  Santa  Fe  and  Indepen- 
dence. The  moon  was  full  and  shone  very  bright, 
but  if  this  circumstance  would  facilitate  the  under- 
taking, it  would  at  the  same  time  expose  the  party 
to  the  danger  of  being  more  easily  discovered  by 
Indians.  The  wealthy  Spanish  exiles,  who  seemed 
to  be  very  much  alarmed,  offered  large  rewards  in 
gold  and  silver  to  any  psirty  that  would  undertake 
to  carry  an  express  to  the  Arkansas  that  night 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  181 

The  danger  was  great,  it  was  true,  but  the  reward 
was  too  tempting  to  be  withstood.  Remember, 
reader,  it  was  gold  and  silver ^  and  every  one  knows 
what  gold  and  silver  has  done  and  can  do.  A 
small  party  agreed  to  go,  and,  mounting  their 
horses,  set  out 

But  in  less  tnan  an  hour  they  came  back  at  the 
top  of  their  speed,  dreadfully  frightened,  and  sta- 
ting that  they  had  seen  a  great  many  Indians. 
"  Where  did  you  see  them  ?  what  number  did  you 
see  ?  what  were  they  doing  ?  were  they  encamped 
or  moving  ?"  These  questions  and  many  others 
were  put  to  them,  first  by  one  and  then  by  another. 
But  as  the  answers  returned  were  not  very  satis- 
factory, and  the  statements  of  the  party  somewhat 
conflicting,  the  company  doubted  whether  they  had 
seen  any  Indians  at  all.  They  finally  said  they 
thought  they  had  seen  Indians.  The  wealthy  Span- 
iards increased  the  reward,  and  another  party  set 
out.  But  they  returned  also  in  a  short  time,  fright- 
ened half  to  death  and  telling  the  same  story.  They, 
too,  gave  the  company  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Indians  seen  were  only  imaginary. 

This  second  failure  aroused  the  game  spirits  of 
"Wallace  and  Barnes,  and  as  they  had  no  time  to 
lose,  they  told  the  company  that  if  they  were  fur- 
nished with  the  best  men  and  best  horses  belonging 
to  the  expedition,  they  would  undertake  it.  The 
proposition  was  immediately  accepted.  The  selec- 
tion of  men  was  easily  and  soon  made.  The  rich 
eiciles  furnished  the  horses,  as  their  animals  were 
very  superior     Wallace,  Workman,  Barnes,  the 


182  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

six  Purbuloes,  and  seven  others,  constituted  tlu 
band  that  were  not  to  be  so  easily  deterred.  The) 
took  a  full  supply  of  arms,  leaped  into  their  sad 
dleE,  which  they  had  girted  very  tight  upon  theii 
horses,  and  put  off.  Away  they  went,  silently  an<* 
swiftly  careering  over  the  plains,  and  keeping  ? 
most  vigilant  look-out  in  ever}^  direction.  Tht 
moon  shone  with  a  brightness  inferior  only  to  the 
light  of  a  vertical  sun.  The  deep  and  sepulchral 
silence  that  prevailed  was  sometimes  broken  by  the 
shrill  neighing  of  the  elk,  and  by  the  howling  of 
hungry,  saucy  gangs  of  wolves,  that  sometimes 
whipped  across  their  route.  They  had  traveled 
more  than  half  the  distance  before  they  saw  an) 
thing  that  was  calculated  to  excite  apprehensions  of 
danger,  or  to  interrupt  their  nocturnal  tramp.  Aa 
they  were  approaching  the  edge  of  a  bluff  that 
overlooked  an  extensive  plain,  a  horse  came  up  the 
bluff  towards  them,  and  when  he  noticed  the  party 
neighed,  and  seemed  to  be  perfectly  tame.  Here 
was  a  mysterious  circumstance,  a  mysterious  horse, 
to  be  understood  before  they  cculd  venture  any 
further  in  safet}\  "  How  came  he  there  ?"  As  he 
was  tame,  he  must  belong  to  some  Indian  encamp- 
ment, that  might  be  very  near.  After  holding  a 
consultation  and  interchanging  opinions  for  a  few 
minutes,  it  was  determined  to  secretly  reconnoitre 
tJie  plain  that  lay  beneath  the  bluff,  particularly  as 
the  mysterious  horse  came  from  that  direction 
Wallace,  (Colonel  Wallace  I  will  call  him,  for  he 
ought  to  have  been  a  colonel),  who  was  always 
toe  first  to  dash  into  danger,  and  upon  dangerous 


THE    LOST    TRAPPEBS.  183 

ground)  gave  the  reins  of  his  horse  to  Barnes,  and 
crept  along  to  the  edge  of  the  bluff. 

After  making  a  thorough  examination,  he  re- 
turned cautiously  to  his  party,  reporting  that  the 
plain  that  lay  beneath  the  bluff  was  <jovered  witl" 
thousands  and  thousands  of  animals,  that  might  be 
Indians  and  Indian  horses,  but  he  saw  no  fires ;  a 
circumstance,  however,  that  he  said  did  not  signify 
any  thing,  as  Indians  always  put  out  their  fires  after 
eating,  or  leave  them  and  go  somewhere  else  to 
encamp.  Barnes,  who  was  always  the  right  hand 
man  of  Colonel  Wallace,  next  crept  up  to  the  edge 
of  the  bluff,  and  after  making  a  careful  examination 
returned,  stating  the  same  thing,  that  the  plain 
below  was  covered  with  thousands  and  thousands 
of  something,  but  he  could  not  say  what  it  meant. 
Workman  then  went,  and  after  an  absence  of  a 
few  minutes  returned,  reporting  the  same  thing,  to 
wit,  that  thousands  and  thousands  of  animals  cov- 
Bred  the  plain,  which  he  took  to  be  Indians  and  In- 
dian horses.  The  six  Purbulo  braves  must  next 
go  and  see  for  themselves,  and  satisfy  their  curios- 
ity. After  prying  and  peeping  most  cautiously 
for  some  time,  over  the  bluff,  they  brought  back 
the  same  account,  that  animals  lay  by  thousands 
and  thousands  over  the  plain,  which  they  conjec- 
tured were  Indians. 

"  Well,  under  the  circumstances,  what  are  we  to 
do  ?"  was  the  problem,  the  solution  of  which  was 
not  very  easy.  The  present  party  were  prompted 
not  so  much  by  the  prospect  of  a  great  reward  in 
gold  and  silver,  as  by  a  nobler  impulse,  that  made 


184  TBB    LOST    TmAPl-ElB. 

them  iusensible  to  danger,  and  raised  them  supe- 
rior to  it.  They  determined  to  dash  through  any 
fmd  all  obstructions  that  might  bo  in  their  route,  or 
sacrifice  their  lives  in  the  attempt.  To  turn  back, 
therefore,  was  not  to  be  recognized  by  them  at  any 
time;  as  a  way  of  avoiding  or  getting  rid  of  a  diffi- 
culty. A  free  interchange  of  views  and  notions 
resulted  in  that  of  adopting  the  following  purpose 
and  plan.  They  resolved  to  surprise  and  route  the 
mysterious  things,  though  they  might  prove  to  be 
thousands  and  thousands  of  Indians  and  Indian 
horses.  To  effect  this  they  were  to  go  down  to  the 
plain  and  approach  the  encampment,  or  whatever 
it  might  be,  as  secretly  and  as  silently  as  possible, 
the  six  Purbuloes  going  before.  Their  aim  would 
be  to  strike  a  panic  among  the  horses  of  the  Indi- 
ans by  a  general  yell,  and  frighten  them  off.  "And 
what  can  an  Indian  do  on  foot,"  said  they,  with 
feelings  of  anticipated  triumph.  Accordingly,  every 
one  adjusted  his  saddle  and  arms,  and  down  they 
went,  creeping  along  in  breathless  silence,  the  Pur- 
buloes leading  the  way.  When  they  were  suffi- 
ciently near,  they  raised  a  tremendous  shout,  and 
dashed  ahead.  In  a  moment  the  whole  plain  waa 
alive  and  moving.  The  mystery  was  solved.  Thou- 
Bands  and  thousands  of  wild  buffalo  and  wild  horsea 
darkened  the  plain,  and  fled  in  headlong  confusion. 
Thb  vast  assemblage  of  wild  animals  was  easily 
explained.  The  sesison  was  very  dry,  and  they 
had  come  and  congregated  there  for  "^ater.  Th« 
mysterious  horse  had  saddle  marks  on  k^im,  and 
was  really  tame.    He  was  most  probably  a  stray 


THE    LOST    TRAPPEBS  185 

from  some  Indian  encampment,  perhaps  not  far  off. 
The  headlong  and  continued  running  of  the  buffalo 
and  horses  created  a  rumbling  sound  that  was  heard 
for  more  than  an  hour,  and  resembled  distant  and 
prolonged  thunder.  The  party  then,  in  fine  cheer, 
pushed  on,  and  without  any  thing  to  interrupt  their 
course,  arrived  at  the  Big  Arkansas  the  next  day 
some  time  in  the  aflernoon,  at  the  place  where 
Captain  Riley  had  encamped.  But  he  was  not 
there. 

They  knew,  however,  from  fresh  signs,  particu- 
larly the  remains  of  buffalo  killed  but  a  few  hours, 
that  he  had  been  there  the  previous  night,  and  fol- 
lomng  on,  they  overtook  him  the  same  day.  Cap- 
tain Riley,  after  hearing  of  the  exposed  condition  of 
the  expedition,  resolved  to  await  their  arrival. 

The  company  followed  the  express  the  next  day, 
and  traveled  very  hard,  to  get  away  from  a  country 
BO  full  of  danger.  For  two  days  the  Purbuloes 
.^ept  up  a  constant  howling  and  lamenting,  that 
was  very  annoying  to  the  company.  On  the  third 
day  they  ceased  their  wailings,  wiped  away  their 
tears,  and  were  in  fine  cheer.  Two  days*  travel 
brought  the  company  up  to  Captain  Riley.  Captain 
Viscarro  here  turned  his  face  back  to  New  Mexico, 
whilst  the  company  going  to  the  States  continued 
their  journey  under  the  protection  of  Captain  Riley  s 
forces,  and  safely  reached  Independence. 


16 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

p0Of^'«f  California — Priests — Missionary  establishments — Amusementr 
—Bull  and  bear  fights — Immense  number  of  horses  and  cattle. 

We  have  already  said  that  Workman  and  Spen- 
cer remained  about  six  months  in  Upper  California, 
dm'ing  which  time  Workman  was  generally  en 
gaged  in  traveling  about,  collecting  information  by 
personal  observation,  concerning  the  climate,  face 
of  the  country,  and  its  productions,  and  the  customs 
of  the  people  who  inhabit  that  country.  We  also 
promised  the  reader,  that  we  would  give  him  a 
short  account  of  that  country,  as  furnished  by  Work- 
man, which  we  believe  to  be  strictly  true,  because 
it  harmonizes  exactly  with  the  accounts  of  several 
other  gentlemen  who  have  been  there,  and  who  are 
regarded  as  incapable  of  intentioncdly  misrepresent- 
ing anything. 

That  country  is  di^dded  into  Upper  and  Lower 
California.  Lower  California  is  a  peninsula  about 
seven  hundred  miles  in  length  and  about  sixty  wide^ 
with  the  Pacific  on  one  side,  and  the  Vermillion  sea, 
(or  as  now  called,  the  Gulph  of  California)  on  the* 
other.  A  part  of  Lower  California  is  in  the  torrid 
zone,  and  the  climate  must  therefore  be  very  hot 
A  great  deal  of  this  peninsula  consists  of  sandy 

(186) 


THB     LOST     TBAPPER8.  181 

Bterile  plains  and  mountains,  that  give  to  it  an  as- 
pect, that  is  rather  stern  than  inviting.  Frequently 
for  many  miles  deserts  of  hot  sand  spread  in  every 
direction,  on  the  face  of  which  not  a  single  sign  of 
vegetable  life  can  be  seen.  And  then  again  the 
face  of  the  country  swells  into  barren  mountains, 
that  are  equally  as  destitute  of  any  kind  of  vegeta- 
tion. In  some  parts  of  Lower  California,  however, 
there  are  valleys  of  great  fertility,  in  which  are  to 
be  found  all  the  productions  of  the  tropics,  suc^i  as 
olives,  oranges,  dates,  figs,  citrons,  pomegranates 
sugar  cane  and  indigo. 

This  part  of  California  was  settled  in  1678  by 
the  Jesuits,  an  order  of  the  Romish  church,  who,  it 
seems,  were  successful  in  gaining  the  affections  ox 
the  natives,  and  acquired  a  powerful  and  extensive 
influence  over  their  minds.  A  number  of  mission- 
ary establishments  were  built  in  different  parts  of 
Lower  California,  to  which  the  natives  gathered 
from  different  portions  of  the  country  to  be  initiated 
in  the  principles  of  the  Catholic  faith.  It  cannot 
be  denied,  that  the  efforts  of  these  Jesuit  fathers  ef- 
fected a  complete  change  in  the  habitudes  and  cus- 
toms of  these  savages,  and  they  succeeded  in  per- 
suading them  to  abandon  their  barbarous  practices, 
and  to  adopt,  to  some  extent,  the  arts  and  habits  of 
civilized  life.  But  the  Spanish  government,  fearing 
the  growth  of  the  power  and  influence  of  the  Jesuits^ 
caused  them  to  be  banished  from  the  country.  The 
Jesuits  were  succeeded  by  the  Franciscans,  and  the 
Franciscans  by  the  Dominicans.  After  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Jesuits,  to  whom  the  natives  were  affec 


188  THE    LOST    TRAPPBftf 

tionately  devoted,  the  aspect  of  the  various  missioiu 
became  worse  and  worse,  and  now  all  of  the  uu^ 
sionary  establishments  are  in  ruins,  except  one  tii<^ 
continues  a  monument  of  the  former  power  and 
prosperity  of  the  order.  This  establishment  is  sit- 
uated in  a  beautiful  valley,  amd  was  once  the  resi- 
dence of  the  principal  of  the  Jesuits  in  that  country 
Although  a  monument  of  the  strength  of  a  very 
powerful  order,  it  is  now  as  silent  as  the  grave,  nor 
is  there  a  hitman  being  living  at  this  time  within 
thirty  miles  of  the  place.  The  edifice  is  of  hewn 
stone,  one  story  high,  two  hundred  and  ten  feet  in 
front  and  about  fifty-five  feet  deep.  The  walls  are 
six  fee*  thiCii  and  sixteen  feet  high,  with  a  vaulted 
roof  of  stone,  about  two  feet  and  a  half  in  thickness. 
There  is  but  little  in  Lower  California  to  invite 
immigration.  The  greater  part  of  it  is  traversed 
by  barren  mountains  and  sandy  plains,  that  make  a 
very  unfavorable  impression  upon  the  minds  of 
those  who  visit  that  region.  A  few  settlements  of 
wkites  have  been  attempted,  but  they  have  nearly 
all  failed.  The  population  of  the  peninsula  is  sup- 
posed to  be  about  12,000.  This  includes  savages, 
converted  Indians  and  whites.  So  much  for  Lower 
California. 

We  come  now  to  Upper  California,  the  hunter's 
iysium,  the  tramontane  paradise,  and  land  of 
milk  and  honey,  to  which  so  many  thousands  and 
ihousands  are  now  turning  their  eyes,  as  their  fu- 
ture home,  and  which,  by  the  way,  constitutes  a  tu 
ylus  ultraj  beyond  which  the  restless,  roving  emi* 
^ant  can  not  go. 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  18f 

Workman  represents  the  Spaniards  as  a  people 
wrho  devote  the  greater  portion  of  their  time  to 
sporting,  and  various  kinds  of  amusements.  This 
ifl  owing  to  the  fact  that  very  little  exertion  is 
necessary  to  secure  a  competency  of  food  and  rai- 
ment. The  peculiarity  with  which  he  was  very 
much  struck  was  their  superior  horsemanship,  and 
their  equestrian  exercises,  in  which  they  are  con- 
stantly engaged.  The  vast  number  of  horses,  both 
wild  and  tame,  in  California,  makes  every  one  a 
cavalier,  who  is,  nearly  always,  in  the  saddle,  and 
there  is  no  country,  perhaps,  in  the  world,  where 
there  are  better  riders.  They  commence  this  kind 
of  exercise  when  they  are  very  small,  and  many  of 
their  children  are  killed ;  and  when  they  have 
strength  to  manage  a  horse,  it  is  no  uncommon 
thing  for  them  to  noose  a  horse  perfectly  wild,  and 
then  mount  him  in  the  open  prairie  and  let  him  go. 
The  frightened  animal  darts  off  with  great  and 
desperate  speed,  rearing  and  plunging  to  rid  him- 
self of  his  terror,  until  he  worries  himself  down  by 
his  violent  exertions,  and  submits  to  the  govern- 
ment of  his  rider.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  wildest 
horse,  sometimes  in  two  hours,  will  become  per- 
fectly passive  and  tractable.  A  boy  ten  or 
twelve  years  old  is  generally  a  good  horseman, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  get  him  to  do  any  thing  on 
foot,  and  any  Califomian  would  think  less  hard  of 
riding  one  hundred  miles  than  he  would  of  walking 
four  hours  on  foot.  They  do  the  most  of  their  la- 
bor on  horse-back,  such  as  taking  care  of  cattle 
and  horses,  and  catching  wild  cattle  and  horsei 


190  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

with  the  lasso.  On  horseback,  vsith  the  lasso,  they 
noose  bear,  and  it  is  very  common  to  draw  their 
wood  to  their  houses  by  means  of  this  cord,  which 
they,  without  dismounting,  will  throw  around  the 
end  of  a  log.  The  California  horses  are  of  a  hardy 
nature,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  inhuman  manner  in 
which  they  are  generally  treated  by  the  natives. 
K  a  man  has  to  travel  from  thirty  to  forty  miles 
from  his  residence,  he  saddles  his  horse  and  mounts 
him;  on  his  arrival  at  his  place  of  destination,  he 
ties  him  to  a  post.  He  may,  in  some  cases,  give 
him  a  drink  of  water,  and  should  he  remain  away 
from  home  four  or  five  days,  his  horse  gets  nothing 
but  water,  without  food  all  that  time ;  and  if  he  is 
a  horse  of  the  middling  class  of  California  horses, 
he  will  travel  those  thirty  or  fort}'  miles  back  again, 
with  the  same  free  gait  at  which  he  started  on  a 
full  belly  and  in  good  condition.  Of  course  this  i> 
only  in  summer  season,  when  the  grass  has  sul*- 
stance  and  the  horse  is  in  good  order.  It  is  cus- 
tomary with  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the  Californi- 
ans,  when  they  wish  to  perform  a  long,  hard,  and 
perhaps  a  dangerous  ride,  to  tie  up  their  horses  for 
several  days,  and  give  them  nothing  to  eat.  AVhen 
a  horse  is  equipped  for  a  journey  in  that  country, 
he  generally  carries,  besides  his  rider,  a  weight  of 
from  fifty  to  si:5rty  pounds  of  saddle-gear,  and  should 
the  weather  be  rainy,  and  the  saddle  get  wet,  the 
weight  is  doubled.  It  requires  two  large  tanned 
ox  hides  to  fit  out  a  California  saddle ;  add  to  this 
a  pair  of  wooden  stirrups  three  inches  thick,  the 
■addle-tree,  heavy  iron  rings  and  buckles,  with  a 


THE    LOST    TRAPPBIt.  191 

pair  of  spurs  weighing  from  four  to  six  pounds,  a 
pair  of  goat  skins  laid  across  the  pommel  of  the 
saddle,  with  large  pockets  in  them  which  reach  be- 
low the  stirrups,  and  a  pair  of  heavy  holsters,  with 
the  largest  kind  of  horse  pistols.  Notwithstanding 
this  burden,  their  horses  are  active,  and  travel  very 
freely. 

In  California  the  inhabitants  are  not  only  said  to 
be  almost  born  on  horse-back,  but  to  be  almost 
meirried  in  the  saddle.  Workman's  statements  cor- 
respond with  those  furnished  by  one  now  living  in 
that  country  about  the  marriage  ceremonies.  When 
the  marriage  contract  is  agreed  on  by  the  parties, 
the  first  business  and  care  of  the  bride-groom  is  to 
get,  by  buying,  begging,  or  even  stealing,  (if  neces- 
sary), the  best  horse  that  can  be  found  in  his  dis- 
trict ;  and  at  the  same  time,  by  some  of  the  above 
means,  he  must  get  a  saddle,  with  silver  mountings 
about  the  bridle ;  and  the  over  leathers  of  the  sad- 
dle must  be  embroidered.  It  matters  not  how  poor 
the  parties  may  be,  the  articles  above  mentioned 
are  indispensable  to  the  wedding. 

The  saddle  the  woman  rides  has  a  kind  of  leath- 
ern apron,  which  hangs  over  the  horse's  rump,  and 
completely  covers  his  hinder  parts  as  far  as  halfway 
down  the  legs ;  this,  likewise,  to  be  complete,  must 
be  embroidered  with  silks  of  different  colors,  and 
gold  and  silver  th^ad.  From  the  lower  part  up- 
wards it  opens  in  six  or  eight  places,  each  of  which 
is  furnished  with  a  number  of  small  pieces  of  cop- 
per or  iron,  so  as  to  make  a  noise  like  so  many 
cracked  bells.     One  of  these  leathern  coverings 


192  THe     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

will  sometimes  have  not  less  than  three  hundref* 
of  these  small  jingles  hanging  to  it. 

The  bridegroom  must  also  furnish  the  bride  with 
not  less  than  six  articles  of  each  kind  of  women's 
clothing,  and  buy  up  every  thing  necessary  to  feast 
his  friends  for  one,  two,  or  three  days,  as  the  incli- 
nation of  the  attendants  may  dictate.  The  day  for 
the  celebration  of  the  wedding  being  come,  the  two 
fine  horses  are  saddled,  and  the  bridegroom  takes 
up  before  him,  on  the  horse  he  rides,  his  future  god- 
mother, and  the  future  god-father  takes  before  him 
on  his  horse  the  bride,  and  away  they  gallop  to 
church.  I  say  gdlopy  for  you  will  never  see  a  Cali- 
fornian  going  at  any  other  gait  than  a  brisk  hand- 
gallop. 

As  soon  as  the  ceremony  is  over,  the  new  mar- 
ried couple  mount  one  horse,  and  the  god-father 
and  god- mother  mount  the  other,  and  in  a  hand- 
gallop  gait  they  return  to  the  house  of  the  parents 
of  the  bride,  where  they  are  received  with  squibs 
and  the  firing  of  muskets,  and  before  the  bride- 
groom has  time  to  dismount,  two  persons,  who  are 
stationed  at  some  convenient  place  near  the  house, 
iseize  him  and  take  ofi*  his  spurs,  which  they  re- 
tain until  the  owner  redeems  them  with  a  bottle  of 
brandy  or  the  money  to  buy  it.  The  married  cou- 
ple then  enter  the  house,  where  the  near  relations 
are  all  waiting  in  tears  to  receive  them.  They 
kneel  down  before  the  parents  and  ask  a  blessing, 
which  is  by  the  parents  immediately  bestowed.  All 
persons,  at  this  moment,  are  excluded  from  the 
presence  of  the  parties,  and  the  moment  the  blesa- 


THE    LOST    TKAPPBtt.  108 

mg  Is  bestowed,  the  bridegroom  makes  a  sign  or 
speaks  to  some  person  near  him,  and  the  guitar  and 
violins  are  struck  up,  and  dancing  and  drinking  ia 
the  order  of  the  day. 

The  moment  a  child  is  born  on  a  farm  in  Cah 
fornia,  and  the  midwife  has  had  time  to  clothe  it,  il 
is  given  to  a  man  on  horse-back,  who  rides  post- 
haste to  some  Mission  with  the  new  born  infant  in 
his  arms,  and  presents  it  to  a  priest  for  baptism 
This  sacrament  having  been  administered,  the 
party  return,  and  the  child  may  rest  sometimes  for 
a  whole  month,  without  taking  an  excursion  on 
horseback ;  but  after  the  lapse  of  that  time,  (one 
month),  it  hardly  escapes  one  day  without  being 
on  horseback,  until  the  day  of  sickness  or  death. 
The  above  statements  will  show  how  much  truth 
there  is  in  the  assertion  that  the  Californians  are 
almost  born  and  almost  married  in  their  saddles. 

Workman  represents  the  whole  of  California  as 
given  up  to  pleasurable  amusements,  some  of 
which  are  very  cruel,  but  suited  to  the  minds  of  a 
priest-ridden,  degraded,  ignorant,  and  serai-barba- 
rian people.  These  are  bear  and  bull  fighting,  and 
cock  fighting,  and  fandangoes ;  amusements  in 
which  they  generally  indulge  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
to  which  they  generally  repair  after  divine  service, 
led  on  by  a  priest-hood  who  are  more  frequently 
to  be  seen  in  cock-pits  and  amphitheatres,  or  at 
cai-d  tables,  than  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  Most 
High.  These  amphitheatres  vary  as  to  their  area, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  towns,  in  the  vicinity  of 
which  they  are  always  made. 
17 


194  TBS    LOST    TlAPPBia. 

Mr.  Workman  was  frequently  present  at  theii 
exhibitions,  and  witnessed  their  performances  in  an 
amphitheatre  of  very  great  size.  He  states  the  as- 
semblage was  always  immense,  and  the  excitement 
and  noise  very  great.  A  bull-fight  always  draws 
forth  the  greatest  concourse  ;— a  real,  old-fashionea 
— old  Spain  bull-fight.  Thousands  and  thousands 
come  and  cram  the  seats,  that  are  fixed  up,  one 
rising  above  the  other,  around  the  amphitheatre, 
and  make  a  multitude,  at  last,  that  would  seem  to 
be  the  whole  population  of  California.  A  wild  bull 
of  the  fiercest  kind,  which  has  been  taken  with 
their  lassos,  and  exasperated  until  he  is  in  a  tre- 
mendous rage,  is  turned  loose  upon  the  arena,  and 
is  followed  by  the  bull-fighters,  some  of  whom  are 
on  foot  and  some  on  horses  armed  with  spears  and 
swords.  And  now  the  contest  begins,  for  the  mo- 
ment the  bull  sees  his  adversaries,  he  makes  a  des- 
perate spring  at  them,  and  all  the  equestrian  skill  and 
tact  of  these  distinguished  horsemen  are  put  into 
practical  exercise  to  keep  beyond  the  reach  of  his 
horns,  and,  at  the  same  time  to  dispatch  him.  No 
horse  is  taken  into  an  amphitheatre,  that  is  not  well 
trained  to  bull-baiting,  and  it  is  therefore  generally 
the  case,  that  the  horses  which  are  used  on  these 
occasions  show  as  much  tact  as  their  riders.  Yet  it 
sometimes  happens  that  horse  and  rider  are  killed 
in  the  contest,  and  it  cfteii  happens  that  men  and 
korses  are  badly  gored.  During  the  contest,  as  the 
enraged  animal  variously  attacks  the  foot-men  an(* 
horses,  he  is  pierced  and  goad^  with  spears  and 
lances,  which  make  him  the  more  fbrions.     Finally 


TBI    LOST    TRAPPEIS.  19S 

Bxhausted  from  rage,  violent  exertions,  and  the 
wounds  he  has  received,  he  lolls  out  his  tongue  and 
bellows,  which  being  an  omen  of  victory  on  the 
pairt  of  his  assailants,  elicits  one  tremendous  burst 
of  applause  after  another,  from  the  excited  multi- 
tude. In  the  meantime  the  goading  and  piercing 
is  kept  up,  until  the  bull  is  dispatched  amid  the 
shouts  of  thousands  and  thousands.  The  dead  bull 
is  then  removed  from  the  amphitheatre,  and  ano- 
ther bull  is  then  brought  in,  and  the  same  scene  is 
acted  over  again.  Sometimes  a  besir  is  turned  in 
with  the  bull,  and  then  the  amphitheatre  is  smaller, 
so  as  to  bring  the  combatants  more  immediately 
together.  A  contest  between  a  bear  and  a  bull  ia 
generally  soon  terminated,  as  one  of  the  combat- 
|nts  or  the  other,  by  acquiring  some  advantage  at 
the  outset,  very  soon  dispatches  his  adversary. 

The  constant  indulgence  in  such  cruel  and  inhu- 
man amusements  and  exhibitions  as  the  above,  will 
lead  the  reader  to  see  that  the  inhabitants  of  Cali- 
fornia are  not  a  very  refined  and  enlightened  people. 
It  is  true,  there  are  a  number  of  jnissions,  that  are 
occupied  by  Catholic  priests,  whose  ostensible  object 
is  to  propagate  the  principles  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion :  but  what  can  a  set  of  men  do  in  an  under- 
taking of  this  kind,  when  in  their  own  mode  of 
living,  they  daily  violate  and  trample  under  their 
feet,  every  principle  of  that  faith,  in  the  spread  of 
which  they  profess  to  be  engaged  !  What  import- 
ance can  the  savages  of  that  country  attach  to  the 
Christian  religion,  when  they  are  told  that  such 
priest?  ure  '\t»  divinely  authorized  representatives  ? 


190  THE    LOST    TRAPPES8* 

if  the  one  half  be  true  that  is  told  of  the  abomina 
tions  of  the  priesthood  in  that  garden  spot  of  th« 
globe,  that  order  there  must  be  a  perfect  embodi- 
ment of  every  wicked  attribute  that  darkens  the 
character  of  corrupt  human  nature.  Mr.  HastingSi 
who  was  in  that  country  in  1843,  and  who  is  now 
residing  there,  gives  a  very  well  delineated  account 
of  the  religious  condition  of  California;  and  when  I 
read  his  statements  about  the  missions,  and  those 
who  occupy  them,  I  confess,  that  I  viewed  them  as 
the  exaggerated  and  distorted  representations  of  a 
mind  laboring  under  some  strong  prejudice.  But 
when  these  statements  were  fully  supported  by 
the  testimony  of  Workman,  and  several  other  citi- 
zens of  this  country,  who  have  visited  California, 
I  am  constrained  to  believe  them  to  be  entirely 
correct. 

These  missionary  establishments  are  the  resi- 
dences of  the  priests,  to  each  of  which  are  attached 
fifteen  square  miles  of  land,  which  is  divided  into 
lots  to  suit  the  native  converts  belonging  to  the 
establishment.  On  these  lots  the  converts,  (or  1 
should  rather  call  them,  poor  humbugged  vassals 
and  dupes)  dwell  in  their  miserable  huts,  in  the 
most  degrading  submission  to  a  sacerdotal  domina- 
tion. 

As  the  produce  of  the  lands  and  all  the  stock 
about  these  establishments,  as  well  as  the  proceeds 
resulting  from  sales,  are  entirely  at  the  disposal  of 
the  priests,  the  wealth  of  these  religious  dignita- 
ries is  sometimes  very  great.  Over  these  fiftteji 
square  miles,  allotted  to  each  mission  by  the  go- 


ttfS    LOST    TRAPPBB8  197 

vemment,  vast  droves  of  horses,  numbering  several 
thousands,  and  herds  of  cattle  even  more  numerous 
and  sheep,  and  hogs,  may  be  seen,  vi^atched  by  ser- 
vile Indians,  who,  like  the  stock,  are  the  property 
of  the  priests.  Appertaining  to  these  establish- 
ments are  also  extensive  vineyards,  that  yield  an 
abundance  of  wine  for  the  use  of  the  priesthood 
In  the  midst  of  this  domain  sits  enthroi^ed  a  fat, 
pursy,  pompous,  vidne-drinking,  debauched  priest, 
who  is  lord  of  all  the  country  and  consciences 
within  the  above  named  limits  (fifteen  miles 
square). 

We  have  said  that  the  Californians  are  a  very 
ignorant  and  degraded  people.  Indeed  they  are 
but  little  above  the  Indians,  with  whom  they  have 
intermarried,  and  to  whom  they  are  in  all  respects 
assimilated.  It  is  the  policy  of  their  religious 
rulers  to  keep  them  in  this  condition,  to  perpetuate 
their  wealth,  power,  and  influence.  But  it  is  grati- 
fying to  be  able  to  say  that  this  deplorable  state 
of  things  seems  to  be  destined  very  shortly  to  mu- 
tation. The  great  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  remark- 
able salubrity  of  the  climate,  its  various  valuable 
productions,  and  its  vast  resources  of  every  other 
kind,  are  now  acting  as  a  charm,  and  inducing 
many  of  our  intelligent  citizens,  and  the  citizens  of 
other  counti'ies,  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  that  land 
of  great  promise.  They  are  hailed  as  benefactors 
by  the  people,  although  they  may  be  viewed  with 
suspicion  by  the  priests  and  those  in  authority. 
The  principles  of  ^^vU  and  religious  liberty  are 
being  introduo  a  strong  partiality  is 


198  TBI    LOST    TRAPPBll. 

exprci^b*-d  by  the  people  to  our  forms  of  gov.^m* 
ment  and  ^  eligion ;  and  unless  measures  are  adop- 
ted by  that  government  to  prevent  our  people  from 
immigrating  into  that  country,  a  revolution  in  favor 
of  our  institutions  must  take  place,  and  who  would 
not  be  delighted  to  see  such  a  happy  change  ?  Who 
does  not  desire  to  see  the  twenty  thousand  semi- 
barbarians  of  Upper  California,  now  in  a  state  of 
wretched  vassalage,  elevated  to  the  condition  of  a 
people  enjoying  the  blessings  of  education,  and  the 
liberty  of  a  free  and  enlightened  conscience  ?  Will 
the  government  of  Mexico  venture  to  say  that  our 
citizens,  and  those  of  any  other  civilized  and  chris- 
tian country,  shall  not  take  up  their  residence  ii 
California,  because,  perchance,  her  duped,  down- 
trodden, priest-ridden  people  may  get  a  little  too 
much  light,  and  see  and  feel  their  own  situation, 
and  the  tyranny  by  which  they  are  now  oppressed  ? 
The  juxtaposition  of  the  two  governments,  (ours 
and  that  of  Mexico),  the  constant  intermingling  of 
their  citizens,  the  opportunity  which  the  natives  of 
New  Mexico  and  California  have  of  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  our  citizens,  and  trading  with  them, 
and  of  learning  something  of  the  excellency  of  our 
various  institutions,  all  have  the  effect  of  prepos- 
jessing  them  in  favor  of  our  principles,  and  have 
already  caused  thousands  of  anxious  eyes  tc  be 
turned  to  the  United  States  as  their  friends  and 
hture  benefactors. 

In  A^Titing  on  this  subject,  I  derive  my  informa- 
tion from  gentlemen  who  have  been  engaged  for  a 
lumber  of  years  in  the  Santa  Fe  trade,  and  those 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  190 

who  have  traveled  through  all  of  California, 
have  heard  these  gentlemen  frequently  assert,  that 
when  our  forces  in  the  present  war  with  Mexico 
shall  march  into  Sana  Fe  and  Monterey,  the  capital 
of  Upper  California,  instead  of  meeting  with  resis- 
tauce,  they  would  be  hailed  as  their  deliverers.  In 
fulfilment  of  these  prophecies,  look  at  Colonel 
Kearney,  as  he  enters  Santa  Fe  and  lifts  and  un- 
fiirls  the  flag  of  our  country,  greeted  by  the  united 
voices  of  a  people  who  feel  that  deliverance  has 
at  last  come.  Look  also  at  our  flag  at  Monterey, 
the  capital  of  Upper  California,  as  it  waves  in  the 
breezes  of  the  Pacific,  and  infuses  joy  into  thou- 
sands of  hearts.  And  look  at  our  little  exploring 
party  of  sixty  men  only,  led  on  by  Captain 
Fremont,  as  they  put  to  flight  and  pursue,  without 
the  loss  of  a  single  man,  Castro,  the  Mexican  go- 
vernor of  California,  with  all  his  forces,  and  tell 
me  what  these  things  mean,  if  they  do  not  clearly 
show  that  the  majority  of  the  people  are  with  us. 

In  support  of  what  has  been  stated  above,  we 
will  give  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  a  gen- 
tleman, one  of  our  own  citizens,  who  is,  at  thii 
time,  chief  magistrate  of  Monterey,  in  Upper  Cali- 
fornia. "  I  was  elected,"  says  he,  "  by  the  suflfra- 
ges  of  the  people.  The  vote  polled  was  a  very 
large  one,  though  no  officer  or  seaman  connected 
with  our  squadron  went  to  the  polls.  I  mention 
these  facts  as  an  evidence  of  the  good  feeling  that 
prevails  here  toward  our  flag.  Any  hostility  must 
have  defeated  my  election.  The  office  is  one  which 
I  do  not  covet ;  it  is  full  of  labor  and  responsibility 


800  THB    LOST    TBAPPERS. 

It  covers  every  question  of  civil  policy  in  Monterey 
and  reaches  to  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the  inhabit- 
ants through  an  immense  jurisdiction.  General  Cas- 
tro's officers  and  men  have  returned  to  their  homes, 
and  signed  a  parole  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  or  say  or  do  any  thing 
to  disturb  the  tranquillity-  of  the  present  government 
This  puts  an  end  to  all  further  war  in  California ; 
indeed  there  is  no  disposition  here  among  the  peo- 
ple to  offer  resistance.  The  masses  are  thoroughly 
with  us,  and  right  glad  to  get  rid  of  Mexican  rule 
Had  it  been  otherwise,  they  would  never  have 
elected  me  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  Monterey 
We  are  all  regarded  more  in  the  light  of  benefac- 
tors than  \dctors.  Their  friendship  and  confidence 
must  never  be  betrayed.  California  must  never  be 
surrendered  to  Mexico.  If  that  country  has  still 
good  claims  to  her,  let  those  claims  be  liquidated 
by  an  equivalent  in  money.  But  it  would  be  trea- 
son to  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the  best  inhabit- 
ants to  surrender  the  province  itself.  Let  Congress 
at  once  annex  her  to  the  Union  as  a  territory,  and 
establish  a  civil  government.  We  require  a  new 
judicial  system ;  the  present  one  throws  all  the  re- 
sponsibility on  the  alcades  (justices  of  the  peace). 
I  broke  through  the  trammels  of  usage  a  few  days 
since,  and  empannelled  the  first  jury  that  ever  sat 
in  California.  The  first  men  in  Monterey  were  on 
it ;  the  case  involved  a  large  amount  of  property, 
and  the  allegation  of  a  high  crime.  No  one  man 
should  decide  such  a  case.  The  verdcit  of  the  jury 
was  submittal  to  without  a  murmur  from  either  of 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS  201 

the  parties.  The  community  seemed  much  grati- 
fied with  this  new  form  of  trial ;  they  think,  and 
very  rightly  too,  that  twelve  men  are  less  liable  to 
partiality,  prejudice  and  corruption,  than  one. 

"  It  was  the  establishment  of  trials  by  jury 
here  that  probably  led  to  my  election  as  magis- 
trate. Mr.  Semple,  an  emigrant  printer,  and  my 
self,  have  established  a  small  paper  here,  the  first 
ever  published  in  California.  It  is  issued  every 
Saturday ;  its  appearance  made  not  a  little  sensa- 
tion. We  found  the  type  in  the  forsaken  cell  of  a 
monk,  and  the  paper  is  such  as  is  used  here  for  segar 
wrappers,  and  was  imported  for  that  purpose.  It 
is  printed  in  English  and  Spanish.  We  £ire  going 
to  send,  at  once,  to  the  United  States  for  larger 
paper  and  a  fresh  font  of  type.  With  this  new  en- 
gine of  power  we  are  going  to  sustain  the  genius 
of  American  institutions  here.  Three  thousand 
emigrants  from  the  United  States,  it  is  understood, 
have  just  arrived  at  San  Francisco,  in  two  compa- 
nies, one  commanded  by  Captain  Hastings,  and  the 
other  by  Captain  Russel,  and  ten  thousand  more  on 
the  way." 

So  much  for  the  people  of  California,  and  their 
present  condition  and  future  prospects.  In  our 
next  chapter  we  will  give  the  reader  a  description 
of  the  country,  as  to  climate,  health,  prod«ction» 
Boil,  and  local  advantages 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Dctcription   of  the  soil,  climate,  health,  and  productiont  oi  Uppa 
California. 

As  there  are  many  in  the  United  States  who  are 
now  thinking  of  going  to  California,  and  no  doubt 
many  more  will  remove  there  if  that  country  should 
be  attached  to  our  territorj%  I  would  state  that 
Upper  California  is  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  between  latitude  31°  and  42°  on  the  Pacific ( 
and  about  two  thousand  miles  from  the  frontier  of 
the  state  of  Missouri,  and  the  route,  the  greatei 
part  of  the  way,  is  the  way  to  Oregon.  Emigrants 
going  to  the  two  countries  travel  together  to  Fort 
Hall,  at  which  place  they  are  about  twenty  days' 
journey  from  their  destination.  The  climate  of 
California  is  a  point  upon  which  every  man  who 
thinks  of  going  there  will  aim  at  obtaining  all  the 
correct  information  that  can  be  had  The  journey 
is  very  long  and  tedioas,  and  the  advantages 
gained  ought  to  be  many  and  valuable. 

When  an  emigrant  goes  to  the  western  frontier 
of  our  states,  and  finds  a  climate  that  is  destmctive 
to  his  health,  it  is  very  easy  for  him  to  find  a  very 
healthy  region  to  which  he  may  repair  and  rebuild 
a  broken  down  conititution.  Persons,  however, 
who  go  to  Oregon,  or  Califoroia.  will,  in  all  proba- 
(M8) 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  20i 

bility,  bury  their  bones  there,  whatever  the  country 
may  prove  to  be.  For  but  few  families  would 
have  perseverance  enough  to  retrace  their  steps 
for  two  thousand  miles,  through  a  country  not 
inhabited,  except  by  savages.  Although  I  me* 
with  persons,  during  my  residence  in  the  State 
of  Missouri,  who  had  moved  with  their  families 
to  Oregon,  and  staying  there  for  a  time,  returned 
to  the  States,  much  dissatisfied,  and  of  course,  dis- 
posed to  give  the  country  a  very  bad  name. 

That  California  is  healthy,  must  be  e\ident  from 
the  fact,  that  it  is  a  country  of  v allies  and  moun- 
tains. For  it  is  g;nerally  the  case,  that  the  face 
of  a  country  determines  its  character,  as  it  regards 
health.  A  country  of  vallies  and  very  high  moun- 
tains is  always  blessed  with  a  pure  elastic  atmos- 
phere, and  an  abundance  of  fine  water,  which 
every  one  knows,  are  essential  to  good  health.  The 
mountains  of  California  are  much  higher  than  the 
Rocky  Mountains  themselves.  The  remarkable 
phenomenon  has  been  made  known,  that  nesir  the 
coast  of  the  Pacific,  and  at  the  extrernity  of  the 
continent,  there  is  a  range  of  motmtams,  (the  Sierrs 
Nevada)  that  is  one  of  the  highest  on  tlie  face  of 
the  globe.  Its  lofty  peaks,  in  all  parts  of  Califor- 
nia, and  along  the  shores  and  far  on  the  waters 
of  the  Pacific,  may  be  seen  covered  with  perpetual 
snow,  and  glistening  in  the  sun.  My  authority  for 
these  statements,  is  Captain  Fremont,  who  recently 
traveled  through  Oregon  and  Upper  California,  ex- 
ploring the  country  and  taking  the  altitude  of  the 
highest  peaks  and  ranges  of  mountains.     He  repre- 


204  THE    LOST    TRAPPERl. 

sents  a  pass  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  or  Snowy  moun- 
^ns  as  2,000  feet  higher  than  the  South  Pass  in 
the  Rocky  mountains,  and  several  peaks  in  view, 
that  rose  several  thousand  feet  still  higher.  Those 
who  have  read  Mr.  Hastings'  account  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  or  as  he  calls  them,  the  California  moun- 
tains, will  remember  that  he  speaks  of  this  range 
as  "much  less  elevated  than  the  Rocky  mountziins." 
We  consider  Captain  Fremont  as  the  best  authority* 
as  he  did  what  Mr.  Hastings  did  not,  that  is,  he  as- 
certained the  altitude  of  those  mountains  by  the  use 
of  proper  instruments,  whilst  Mr.  Hastings  most 
probably  was  guided  in  his  calculation  by  the  un- 
assisted eye,  and  information  derived  from  others 
It  is  easy,  however,  to  conceive  how  two  men,  both 
of  whom  may  be  aiming  to  state  nothing  but  that 
which  is  correct,  may  differ  in  opinions  about  a 
country,  of  which  so  much  yet  remains  to  be 
known.  Trappers,  who  have  been  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains  from  six  to  ten  years,  have  informed  me 
that  they  have  frequently  come  upon  large  rivers 
in  those  mountains,  of  the  name  and  even  the  ex- 
istence of  which,  they  had  no  knowledge  whatever 
and  the  course  of  which  are  not  to  be  found  laid 
down  in  any  map  of  that  country.  Such  is  the 
great  extent  of  that  country,  lying  between  the 
States  and  the  Pacific,  a  great  deal  of  w^hich  is  now, 
and  is  likely  to  continue  to  be,  unexplored  regions. 
But  let  us  return  to  the  climate  of  California,  as 
this  is  a  matter  in  which  every  emigrant  to  that 
country  takes  a  deep  interest,  and  about  which  he 
wants  nothing  but  facta      The  united  testimony  of 


THE     LOST    TRAPPEBS.  205 

all  men,who  have  been  in  California,  make  it  not  only 
healthy,  but  equal,  in  this  advantage,  to  any  part  of 
the  virorld.  It  is  not  subject  to  the  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold,  that  are  peculiar  to  the  climate  of 
all  the  States.  In  any  part  of  Upper  California 
snow  seldom  falls,  and  it  soon  and  always  disap- 
pears at  the  rising  of  the  sun  This  applies  to  the 
low  lands,  or  the  vallies  and  table  lands,  which  are 
the  parts  of  the  country  that  are  destined  to  be  set- 
tled and  improved. 

The  remarkable  uniformity  of  temperature  pecu- 
liar to  California,  and  the  mildness  of  its  climate 
is  owing  to  the  fact  that  during  the  summer  winds 
almost  constantly  prevail  from  the  north  and  north- 
west, and,  sweeping  over  vast  bodies  of  perpetual 
snow,  they  are  very  cool  and  refreshing.  And  du- 
ring the  winter  there  are  regular  warm  sea  breezes, 
which  tend  to  diminish  the  cold.  The  heated  and 
rarified  air  of  the  valleys  and  low  lands  ascends 
and  gives  place  to  the  exhilarating  and  refreshing 
streams  of  pure  air  that  come  from  the  adjacent 
snow  capped  mountains.  As  there  is  very  little  cold 
weather  during  the  winter,  and  no  snow  or  frost  to 
do  any  harm,  there  is  perpetual  life  in  the  vegetable 
kingdom.  This  must  be  the  case,  otherwise  there 
would  be  no  adequate  means  of  subsistence  for  the 
thousands,  and  ten,  and  twenty,  and  fifty  thousands 
of  wild  horses  and  cattle  that  are  in  California. 

In  the  winter,  (if  they  can  be  said  to  have  a 
winter  season),  that  is,  during  the  months  oi  our 
winter,  all  the  productions  of  the  earth  are  grow- 
ing, some  of  them  rapidly,  refreshed  as  they  are  by 


906  tHB    LOST    TRAPPEK8. 

(requent  warm  rains ;  and  in  the  spring,  at  any 
rate  in  the  beginning  of  summer,  crops  of  all  kinda 
are  fully  matured.  This  seems  to  be  a  wise  pro- 
vision of  Providence,  for  in  the  latter  part  of  sum- 
mer there  is  generally  not  only  a  want  of  rain,  but 
frequently  severe  droughts,  which  has  made  water 
and  food  to  be  so  sc2u-ce  as  to  cause  the  loss  of 
thousands  of  stock.  This  is  the  only  objection  that 
I  have  ever  heard  urged  against  that  country ;  and 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  it  is,  to  some  extent, 
an  unfavorable  trait  in  its  character.  It  seems  that 
the  success  of  the  crops  depends  upon  the  quantity 
of  rain  that  falls  in  the  rsdny  season,  which  is  in 
the  winter  months.  If  a  great  abundance  of  rain 
falls  during  the  winter,  the  crops  the  ensuing  sum- 
mer are  said  to  be  very  abundant;  and,  on  the 
contrary,  if  there  be  a  lack  of  rain  during  the  rainy 
season,  the  crops  are  not  so  abundant.  But  even 
in  a  dry  season,  such  is  the  great  fertility  of  the 
soil,  the  crops,  compai^ed  with  those  in  the  states, 
are  inmiense.  The  uniformity  then  of  temperature, 
the  dry  smnmer  and  autumn  seasons,  the  piuro 
streams  of  water,  an  atmosphere  remarkable  foi 
its  elasticity  and  purity,  the  presence  of  very  high 
mountains,  whose  peaks  are  always  white  with 
snow,  must  convince  any  man  that  Upper  Califor- 
nia cannot  be  any  thing  but  a  very  healthy  part  of 
the  world.  All  descriptions  of  this  country,  as  it 
regards  the  climate,  whether  written  or  oral,  with 
which  we  have  met,  speak  of  California  in  the 
same  unmeasured  terms  of  praise.  And  should  it 
be  attached  to  our  domain,  thousands  of  our  enter- 


THE    LOST    TRAPPEIS  907 

prising  citizens  will  be  seen,  every  spring,  taking 
up  their  line  of  march  from  the  frontier  of  Missouri 
for  that  country.  And  then,  again,  the  fact  that  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year  the  population  are  in  pos- 
session of  the  most  perfect  health,  and  none  of 
those  diseases  are  to  be  seen  prevailing  that  are  so 
common  in  our  new  and  western  states,  and  make 
the  happiness  and  the  lives  of  the  people  so  pre- 
carious. 

We  will  state  another  fact  (lest  we  may  forge 
to  do  so  elsewhere)  connected  with  emigrating 
to  California  or  Oregon.  It  is  the  great  improve- 
ment a  trip  to  either  of  those  countries,  or  to  Santa 
Fe,  is  sure  to  make  on  the  health  of  invalids  who 
may  undertake  the  journey.  I  have  known  many 
who  were  completely  broken  down  by  the  diseases 
of  Missouri,  that  took  trips  of  this  kind  in  search 
of  health,  and  have  always  returned  not  only  com- 
pletely restored,  but  even  more  fleshy  than  they 
had  been  at  any  period  of  their  lives.  If  there  be 
a  certain  cure  for  diseased  lungs  in  the  world,  I  be- 
lieve it  to  be  a  trip  to  one  of  those  countries.  Let 
no  invalid  be  afraid  to  try  it.  If  he  thinks  the 
trip  too  long  to  California  or  Oregon,  let  him  go  to 
Santa  Fe,  which  is  but  about  nine  hundred  miles 
from  Missouri,  and  is  nofio  only  a  trip  of  pleasure. 
It  matters  not  how  reduced  he  may  be,  if  he  has 
strength  to  ride,  his  health  will  improve  from  the 
start.  I  have  met  with  many  gentlemen  in  the 
state  of  Missouri  who  were  ot  the  opinion  that 
from  ten  tc  twenty  years  had  been  added  to  their 
lives  by  a  trip  to  Santa  Fe. 


t08  THE    LOfT    TRAFPEB8. 

An  impression  exists  that  California  is  not  well 
supplied  with  timber ;  which  is  certainly  very  er- 
roneous. It  is  true,  timber  is  not  as  abundant  in 
some  parts  of  that  country,  as  it  is  in  the  old  states, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  advantages  that  it  is  not  so  abun- 
dant. There  seems  to  be  a  great  mistake  in  the 
minds  of  the  majority  of  people,  as  to  the  quantitif 
of  timber  necessary  for  the  various  purposes  to 
which  it  is  usually  applied.  When  there  is  more 
than  a  sufficiency  for  said  purposes,  the  surplus 
must  be  an  expensive  obstruction  in  farming  opera- 
tions. For  it  must  be  cut  down  and  removed  off 
the  ground,  and  this  often  costs  more  than  the  land 
is  worth.  And  if  the  whole  face  of  the  country  in 
California  were  covered  with  timber,  so  exuberant 
is  the  growth,  it  would  be  next  to  a  physical  im- 
possibility to  settle  the  country.  One  of  the  great- 
est facilities  experienced  by  emigrants  in  settling 
the  prairie  states,  is  the  absence  to  a  great  extent 
of  timber.  When  they  have  made  the  rails  and  in- 
closed their  land,  their  farms  are  made,  and  these 
farms  are  rich  and  beautiful  in  the  bargain,  and 
made  in  a  few  weeks.  By  the  time  they  may  want 
a  new  supply  of  rails  to  inclose  their  farms  a 
second  time,  timber  will  have  grown  up  to  sufficient 
size  to  make  them.  How  different  is  the  case  with 
regard  to  the  lands  in  some  of  the  old  states,  that 
are  covered  with  a  dense  and  heavy  growth  of  tim- 
ber. It  is  the  lot  of  many  a  "  young  beginner  in  thd 
world"  to  have  to  go  into  the  forest,  alone  and  with- 
out any  assistance,  to  open  a  farm.  By  the  time  the 
trees  and  stumps  are  removed  off  his  tract  of  land. 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  209 

and  he  has  things  fixed  to  his  notion  and  taste,  he 
is  an  old,  worn-out  man,  if  not  in  years,  at  least  in 
feeling.  And  what  is  worse,  he  hsis  nothing  to  show 
for  his  time,  and  labor,  and  expended  energies,  but 
a  farm  that  will  not  bring  as  much  per  acre,  as  it 
would  have  cost  to  remove  the  timber.  I  have 
known  farmers,  in  Illinois  and  Missouri,  to  maJie 
their  rails  ten  miles  from  their  prairie  lands,  and 
haul  them  that  distance,  and  make  a  prairie  farm 
infinitely  easier  than  they  could  have  opened  a 
farm  in  the  woods.  The  timber  in  California  is  in 
abundance  in  the  mountains,  along  the  rivers,  and 
coast,  and  grows  to  an  extraordinary  size  and  height. 
Workman  affirms  that  he  saw  trees  on  the  coast, 
that  were  not  less  than  two  hundred  feet  high,  and 
without  a  limb,  the  first  hundred  feet,  and  about 
thirty  feet  in  circuniference.  The  p-*nHpal  varie- 
ties are  oak,  ash,  fir,  pine,  spruce,  cedar  ol" great  size, 
called  red  wood,  cherry,  willow.  The  prickly  pear 
and  wormwood  are  to  be  found,  constituting  the 
only  vegetation  in  some  parts  of  California,  as  weU 
as  Oregon  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  forests 
abound  in  wild  grapes,  which  fact,  connected  with 
the  circumstance  that  there  are  extensive  vineyards 
belonging  to  the  missions  shows,  that  California  ia 
admirably  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  grape. 
The  fact,  that  there  are  orchards  attached  to  those 
missions,  that  furnish  every  variety  of  fruit,  northern 
and  southern,  settles  another  important  question  in 
regard  to  the  fruits  of  the  country. 

Vegetables  of  all  kinds  are  produced  in  the  great- 
eat  abundance,  and  wheat,  com,  rye,  oats,  hemp,  to- 
18 


210  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

bacco,  are  cultivated  with  as  much  success  as  in  any 
pent  of  the  world.  In  the  southern  part  of  Upper 
California,  and  Lower  California,  cotton,  rice,  coffee, 
cane,  and  the  tropical  fruits,  such  as  oranges,  pome- 
granates, citrons,  lemons,  et  cetera,  are  cultivated 
and  come  to  perfect  maturity.  Clover,  flax,  and 
oats,  are  in  many  parts,  spontaneous  productions 
of  the  earth,  and  may  be  seen  in  vast  fields.  The 
wild  flax  in  California  is  the  same  as  our  variety, 
and  is  to  be  seen  in  Oregon  and  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. The  wild  oats  and  clover,  almost  in  every 
respect,  resemble  those  of  the  states. 

Wheat  may  be  sown,  any  time  between  fall  and 
spring,  and  the  time  of  cutting  ctepends  on  the  time 
it  is  sown.  If  it  is  sown  in  the  fall,  it  \vi\\  mature 
in  the  spring.  The  quedity  and  quantity  of  tobacco 
cultivated  is  said  to  be  equal  to  that  of  any  portion 
of  the  world.  Indeed  all  the  experiments  that  have 
been  made  in  cultivating  the  difierent  kinds  of 
grains  and  fruits,  have  resulted  in  the  most  satisfac- 
tory, and  flattering  developments.  And  every  va- 
riety of  spontaneous  fruits  found  in  the  States  are 
found  there  luxuriant  ajid  abundant 

One  of  the  most  interesting  characteristics  of 
this  country  is  the  immense  herds  of  cattle  and 
gangs  of  horses,  partially  ^^41d,  that  may  be  seen 
grazing  on  the  prairies  and  plains.  The  almost 
endless  number  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  their  rapid 
increase,  and  the  ease  vrith  which  they  are  raised 
in  California,  makes  it  perhaps  the  greatest  stock 
country  in  the  world.  Indeed,  for  many  years,  cat- 
tle were  raised  (if  they  can  be  said  to  be  raised) 


THE     LOST    TRAPPXR8.  21 1 

for  their  hides,  and  were  slaughtered  by  thousanda 
for  this  object,  whilst  their  flesh  was  left  on  the 
ground  as  food  for  wild  beasts.  Recently  there  has 
been  an  increasing  demand  for  their  tallow  and 
beef,  and  indeed  a  great  many  cattle  are  driven  to 
Oregon  to  supply  the  emigrants. 

It  would  appear  that  the  cattle  of  California  are 
of  an  inferior  quality,  as  the  people  of  Oregon 
greatly  prefer  the  cattle  taken  from  the  state  of 
Missouri.  Hence  several  droves  of  cattle  (cows 
principally)  have  been  taken  to  Oregon  by  specula- 
tors from  Missouri,  and  sold  at  a  very  high  price, four 
times  as  much,  perhaps, .a^  the  price  of  a  cow  from 
California.  The  preference  for  our  cattle  may  arise 
from  the  fact  that  they  a^e  more  tame  and  easily 
managed.  The  California eattle  are  said  to  be  very 
wild  and  ferocious,  and  from  the  fact  that  no  pains 
are  taken  to  cross  and  improve  the  race,  they  are, 
in  all  probability,  very  rough.  They  are  certainly 
very  large,  and  generally  weigh  more  than  our  do- 
mesticated race,  which  excels  them  in  neatness  and 
gentleness  of  disposition. 

The  country  is  also  very  favorable  to  the  raising 
of  hogs  and  sheep,  of  which  any  number  may  be 
raised  with  little  or  no  trouble.  Horses  are  the 
favorite  stock  with  the  Californians.  A  Califor- 
nian  well  mounted  is  in  his  glory.  His  equipments, 
in  our  idea,  are  awkward  and  clumsy.  His  saddle, 
which  is  after  the  Moorish  mode,  is  high  behind  and 
before.  The  front  part,  called  the  pommel,  is  made 
very  strong,  as  the  Californians  are  in  the  habit  of 


212  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS. 

fastening  their  lasso  to  it  when  they  hh^c  noosed 
a  wild  horse,  cow,  or  bear.  Indeed  the  lasso  is  al- 
ways hanging  coiled  up  on  the  pommel  of  the  sad- 
dle, and  it  is  astonishing  to  what  a  variety  of  uses 
they  apply  it,  and  with  what  dexterity  they  throw 
it.  The  tree  of  a  California  saddle  is  covered  with 
two  or  three  covers  of  raw  hide,  which  is  sometimes 
carved  and  embroidered.  The  stirrups,  which  are 
of  wood,  and  very  clumsy,  are  also  sometimes 
carved.  A  tremendous  pair  of  spurs,  as  large  as 
pitch-forks,  fastened  by  chains,  jingle  at  the  heels 
of  the  equestrian.  As  to  the  bridle,  it  often  has 
such  mechanical  force  that  it  is  perfectly  easy  for 
the  rider  to  break  the  jaws  of  his  horse.  The  seat 
of  the  saddle  is  so  deep  that  when  the  rider  occu- 
pies it,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  the  most  vicious 
horse  to  dismount  him. 

In  no  part  of  the  world  are  horses  so  numerous 
as  they  are  in  California.  One  man  will  frequently 
own  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand,  some  of  which 
are  distinguished  from  those  belonging  to  other 
men  by  being  branded.  These  horses  are  slightly 
smaller  than  our  horses,  but  they  are  very  clean- 
limbed, active,  and  capable  of  enduring  great  fa- 
tigue. It  is  said  to  be  very  common  for  a  Califor- 
nian  to  ride  one  hundred  miles  in  a  day,  or  one 
hundred  miles  in  ten  hours,  on  the  same  horse.  It 
is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  face  of  the 
country  is  very  level  and  the  roads  very  fine,  cir 
cumstances  that  very  much  determine  the  distance 
a  horae  will  travel  in  a  day.    Their  horses,  no 


THE     LOST     TRAPPERS.  213 

doubt,  are  of  the  pony  kind,  and  from  the  fact  that 
no  pains  are  taken  to  improve  the  race, they  must  be 
very  degenerate.  As  numerous  as  horses  are  in 
California  and  Oregon,  and  as  cheap  as  they  are, 
there  is  a  demand  for  our  horses  there,  and  one 
good  horse  from  the  states  is  worth  twenty  of  thosp 
trifling  little  pt«&i<» 


CHAPTER    XVMf 

Santa  Fe  Trade. 

We  nave  stated,  that  our  two  lost  trappers,  Work- 
man and  Spencer,  returned  to  the  States  Avith  a  com- 
pany of  Santa  Fe  traders.  We  have  also  alluded 
to  the  beneficial  effect,  which  a  trip  to  Santa  Fe  al- 
ways has  on  the  health  of  invalids,  and  we  have 
recommended  persons  laboring  under  pulmonary 
diseases  to  take  a  trip  of  this  kind  as  an  almost  cer- 
tain cure. 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  give  the  reader  a  short 
account  of  the  Santa  Fe  trade,  which  is  now  a  regu- 
lar business,  in  which  a  number  of  our  citizens  are 
regularly  engaged,  and  in  which  an  immense 
amount  of  capital  is  invested.  I  am  not  able  to 
state  the  year,  when  this  trade  assumed  its  present 
weight  and  importance  :  not  long  before  1824  or  5. 
Although  now  and  then  a  few  adventurous  indi- 
viduals would  venture  through  the  immense  wilds 
of  Louisiema  with  a  few  light  articles,  before  that 
time. 

This  trade  differs  in  one  respect,  from  the  fur 
trade,  and  that  is  this.  The  latter  is  carried  on  by 
companies  of  very  heavy  capital.  The  Santa  Fe 
trade  is  carried  on  by  individuals.     A  man  enga^d 


THE    LOST    TKAPPBR8.  215 

k  A  this  trade  buys  his  goods  in  the  eastern  market, 
HAd  has  them  taken  to  the  frontier  of  Missouri. 
1  liere  he  hires  a  sufficient  number  of  hands  to  drive 
his  teams  across  the  plains  to  Santa  Fe,  and  as 
many  more,  as  may  be  needed  for  other  purposes. 
His  goods  are  conveyed  in  wagons,  that  were  usu- 
ally drawn  by  mules.  Oxen  are  now  substituted. 
A  Santa  Fe  company  generally  numbers  about  one 
hundred  men,  and  it  was  customary  to  depend  upon 
game  for  provisions,  but  now  every  company  takes 
a  supply  to  carry  them  through.  The  buffalo  have 
become  wild,  and  it  takes  too  much  time  to  hunt 
and  kill  them.  Moreover,  serious  disasters  have  be- 
fallen several  companies,  by  permitting  the  men  to 
leave  their  wagon  teams  to  engage  in  buffalo  hunts, 
as  Indians  have  sometimes  seized  such  times  as  a 
suitable  opportunity  to  rush  in  upon  a  company 
and  run  off  their  mules,  and  perhaps  cut  off  the 
party.  The  Indians  along  that  route,  have  learned 
that  it  is  very  easy  to  frighten  a  caravan  of  mules, 
and  their  policy  is  always  to  strike  a  panic  among 
them,  and  a  nrnle  frightened  is  a  mule  frantic.  They 
cannot  be  restrained,  but  break  loose  and  dash  off, 
pursued  by  the  savages,  wh<r  .teep  up  the  panic  by 
a  constant  yell.  Formerly  the  traders  were  in  the 
habit  of  buying  mules  in  Santa  Fe,  and  bringing 
them  to  the  States  ;  but  the  Spanish  mules  are  very 
small,  and  since  our  own  citizens  have  engaged 
in  the  raising  of  mules,  that  kind  of  stock  is  not,  at 
this  time,  ever  brought  to  the  States,  from  New 
Spain.  Whilst  mules  were  an  object  of  trade,  the 
traders  met  with  many  mishaps.     Whole  drovee  of 


816  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

mules,  numbering  from  three  to  five  hundred,  weit. 
sometimes  lost.  Cattle  are  preferred  to  mules  for 
another  reason.  They  are  stionger  than  mules,  and 
can  stand  the  heat  as  well.  A  duty  of  one  hundred 
dollars  is  to  be  paid  in  Santa  Fe,  on  every  w^agon, 
without  any  reference  to  the  size  and  the  amount  of 
goods.  To  take  the  advantage  of  this  regulation; 
the  traders  have  wagons  made  that  will  contain 
seventy  or  eighty  hundred  weight,  mth  very  wide 
tire.  Oxen  are  better  adapted,  by  their  superior 
strength,  to  draw  such  heavy  wagons,  than  mules. 
When  the  expedition  approaches  Santa  Fe,  the 
freight  of  three  wagons  is  put  into  one,  and  the 
empty  wagons  are  destroyed  by  fire,  to  prevent  their 
falling  into  the  hands  of  Indians.  In  this  way,  the 
traders  manage  to  avoid  paying  a  great  deal  of  duty. 
When  they  have  sold  their  goods,  they  also  sell 
their  teams  at  a  very  fair  price.  One  of  these 
Santa  Fe  traders  vdll  buy  up  f;-  ii  eighty  to  one 
hundred  pair  of  oxen  every  spriiici  for  his  trip. 
From  this  it  will  be  very  readily  inferred  that  there 
is  quite  a  demand  for  oxen  in  Missouri,  at  least 
once  a  year.  Gold  and  silver  being  the  articles  for 
which  the  traders  exchange  their  goods,  our  citizens 
are  required  by  the  authorities  of  Santa  Fe  to  pay  a 
heavy  duty  on  the  precious  metals  they  take  out  of 
that  country.  To  avoid  paying  this  tax,  they  have 
large  false  axle-trees  to  the  wagons,  in  which  they 
convey  their  money  back  to  the  States,  which  are 
excavated,  and  in  which  the  precious  metals  are 
concealed.  When  the  proper  officer  examines  the 
contents  of  the  wagons,  he  is  perfectly  unconscious 


THE    LOST    TRAPPBB8.  217 

of  the  artifice.  A  great  deal  of  capital  is  invested 
in  this  trade.  Some  expeditions  return  to  the 
State  with  fifly  and  as  much  sometimes  as  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  By  this  means  a  great 
deal  of  Mexican  coin  is  brought  to  this  country. 

During  the  first  few  years  of  this  trade,  indeed 
until  very  recently,  the  Indians  between  Missouri 
and  Santa  Fe  were  very  troublesome,  particularly 
the  Camanches.  The  companies  generally  keep 
some  cannon  buried  on  the  Big  Arkansas,  where 
the  danger  begins,  and  when  they  reach  there  they 
take  them  up  and  convey  them  through  the  dan- 
gerous country,  and  then  bury  them  again  until 
they  return.  The  caravans  leave  Independence 
in  the  spring,  and,  if  they  go  no  farther  than  Santa 
Fe,  they  return  the  following  autumn,  but,  if  they 
go  on  to  Chihuahua,  which  is  five  hundred  miles 
beyond  Santa  Fe,  they  are  absent  a  year.  Heavy 
capitalists  now  generally  go  on  to  Chihuahua. 

As  there  is  nothing  else  to  induce  our  citizens  to 
go  to  that  country,  but  its  precious  metals,  very  few 
of  them  take  up  their  residence  there  for  life.  The 
regular  traders  who  have  families  leave  them  in 
Missouri,  and  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  one  of  our 
female  citizens  in  a  company  going  to  Santa  Fe. 
A  German  who  was  going  to  Santa  Fe  to  become  a 
resident  in  that  country,  is  said  to  have  had  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  in  consequence  of  his  having 
a  wife  with  him.  She  was  perhaps  the  first  white 
woman  that  ever  passed  through  that  country 
(and  for  any  thing  that  I  know,  she  was  the 
last),  and  when  she  was  seen  by  the  savages,  their 
19 


218  THE    LOST    TRAPPEBI. 

curiosity  could  scarcely  be  repressed.  They  gazed 
upon  her  beautiful  white  face  with  astonishment. 
They  wanted  the  privilege  (that  is,  some  of  the 
principal  chiefs)  of  riding  with  her  in  the  convey- 
ance in  which  she  was  seated,  and  some  even  fol- 
lowed the  train  of  wagons  for  two  or  three  days, 
«imply  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  gazing  upon  her. 
One  of  the  Indians,  a  Camanche  chief,  expressed  8 
wish  to  buy  her,  and  offered  her  husbsmd  two  IniJ- 
fcdo  skins y  which  the  savsige  thought  a  very  fail 
price  for  a  wdfe.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state 
that  the  German  had  a  very  different  notion  about 
the  value  of  a  wdfe,  and  declined  the  offer  of  the 
Camanche  chief.  It  is  said  that  his  mind  experi- 
enced many  anxious  fears,  lest  he  might  lose  his 
**  better  half,"  and  he  declared  that  if  he  succeeded 
in  getting  to  Santa  Fe  with  his  wdfe,  he  never 
would  again  run  the  like  risk  of  losing  her,  or  put 
himself  in  a  situation  where  he  would  again  bo 
taunted  with  two  buffalo  skins. 

The  Santa  Fe  trade  is  not  now  as  sure  a  road  to 
frealth  as  it  was  some  years  ago.  There  are  too 
many  engaged  in  it.  Competition  has  reduced  the 
price  of  goods,  and  the  Spaniards  themselves  have 
recently  engaged  in  it,  and  it  is  now  somewhat 
overdone.  Such  is  a  brief  account  of  a  trade  that 
has  made  many  of  our  enterprising  citizens  very 
wealthy,  and  caused  the  precious  metals  to  circQ 
late  in  great  abundant  in  this  country. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Fur  trade— The  fate  of  the  I'onqam. 

A»  the  '/affic  in  furs  is  a  pursuit  which  has  taken 
"iiany  of  our  citizens  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the 
states,  and  prompted  them  to  penetrate  the  vast 
wilderness  between  the  states  and  the  Pacific,  anrf 
to  explore  regions  that,  but  for  the  efforts  of  these 
early  adventurers,  must  have  remained  perhaps 
until  this  day  a  terra  incognita,  whose  beauty,  gran- 
deur, and  fertility  there  was  no  one  to  admire  but 
the  uncultivated  savage  ;  and  as  these  adventurers 
acted  the  part  of  precursors  as  well  as  trappers, 
and  went  in  advance  of  civilization,  and  discovered 
countries  now  occupied  by  the  agriculturalists  and 
mechanics,  we  propose  giving  the  reader  a  succinct 
account  of  the  fur  trade,  and  some  interesting 
facts  connected  with  it. 

The  French,  who  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  were  among  the  first  who  engaged  in 
this  trade  on  a  plan  somewhat  extensive,  and  they 
seem  to  have  been  the  first  to  discover  the  vast 
sources  of  wealth  that  were  to  be  found  in  the  rich 
peltries  of  the  western  wilderness.  They  pro- 
cured large  quantities  of  the  most  valuable  furs 
from  the  natives,  by  giving  them  in  exchange  little 
trinkets  that  were  of  very  little  value,  and  in  this 

(219) 


220  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

way  realized  vast  profits.  When  the  French  lost 
possession  of  Canada,  the  trade  fell  into  the  hands 
of  British  subjects,  when  it  contracted  to  very 
narrow  limits  and  seemed  to  labor  with  difficulties. 
About  four  years  afterwards  it  seemed  to  expand 
again,  and  was  pushed  on  by  an  additional  number 
of  enterprising  merchants,  who  enlarged  the  field 
of  their  operations,  and  penetrated  deeper  into  the 
wilderness. 

The  field  of  adventure  in  this  trade  continued  to 
enlarge  in  the  course  of  time,  until  it  covered  the 
great  chain  of  Lakes,  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Missouri,  the  sources  of  the  Columbia  and 
Colorado,  and  even  reached  within  the  arctic  circle. 
A  field  of  enterprise  so  wide,  and  abounding  in 
euch  vast  treasures  of  hidden  wealth,  would  natu- 
rally call  into  existence  a  great  many  companies. 
The  first  company  that  was  formed  was  the  Hud- 
son Bay  company,  which  was  chartered  in  1669  or 
1670,  by  Charles  the  second,  who  granted  to  said 
company  the  exclusive  privilege  of  establishing 
trading  posts  on  the  shores  and  the  tributary 
waters  of  that  bay. 

After  enjoying  almost  uninterrupted  control  of 
the  trade  for  several  years,  this  company  found  a 
rival  in  an  association  of  several  wealthy  Scottish 
gentlemen,  (merchants),  who  had  established  a 
trading  post  at  Michilimackinac,  which  became  the 
centre  of  the  trade  extending  from  lake  Superior  to 
the  upper  Mississippi,  and  to  lake  Winnepeg.  The 
e^'ils  arising  from  the  competition  of  trade,  brought 
the  two  companies  together  under  the  name  of  the 


THE     LOST    TRAPPERS.  221 

North-west  company.  After  this,  as  the  trade  in- 
creased, one  company  after  another  sprang  up,  until 
at  different  times  there  have  bean  eight  or  ten  dif- 
ferent companies,  the  names  of  which  we  will  give. 
We  have  mentioned  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
afterwards'  called  the  North-west  Company ;  the 
Mackinaw  Company;  the  American  Fur  Company ; 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company;  Missouri  Fur  Company ; 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  and  several 
others.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  furnish  a  history 
of  each  one  of  those  companies,  the  name  of  which 
we  have  given,  but  simply  to  state  some  facts  in  re- 
lation to  that  trade,  which  we  think  will  be  interest- 
ing. The  Rocky  Mountains  embrace  the  region  in 
which  this  trade  at  this  time  is  more  particularly 
going  on.  It  is  about  the  streams  and  lakes  in  that 
vast  wilderness,  more  than  any  where  else,  that  the 
adventurous  trapper  is  to  be  seen  passing  away  his 
Bolitary  days,  and  intensely  engaged  in  his  efforts 
to  take  the  beaver. 

The  first  company  that  attempted  to  establish  a 
trading  post  on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  was 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  formed  at  St.  Louis  in 
1808,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Manuel  Lisa,  a 
Spaniard.  He  established  posts  on  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri, and  one  on  Lewis  river,  the  south  branch  of 
the  Columbia.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  first 
post  established  by  white  men  in  the  country  drained 
by  the  Columbia ;  but  the  enmity  of  the  Indians 
and  scarcity  of  food  caused  it  to  be  abandoned  by 
Mr.  Henry  in  1810. 

In  this  same  year  1810,  Mr.  Aator  of  New  York 


222  THE    LOST    TRAPrBftS. 

engaged  in  the  bold  scheme  of  establishing  a  num 
ber  of  trading  posts  on  the  Columbia  and  its  tribu- 
taries, and  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  the 
head-waters  of  the  Missouri,  with  a  factory  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia.  His  plan  was  to  send 
goods  from  New  York  by  sea  to  this  factory  to  be 
exchanged  for  furs,  which  he  intended  to  have  con- 
veyed to  China,  and  bring  back  the  silks  and  teas 
of  that  country  to  New  York.  In  this  magnificent 
scheme,  Mr.  Astor  had  associated  with  him,  four 
gentlemen,  under  the  firm  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany. Another  part  of  his  plan  was,  to  send  an 
expedition  overland  up  the  Missouri,  destined  also 
for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  The  object  of  the 
land  expedition  was  to  open  a  communication 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  gather  all  neces- 
sary information  about  the  country,  and  to  plant 
trading  posts  along  the  route. 

We  have  said  that  Mr.  Astor's  plan  was  to  for- 
ward all  necessary  supplies  by  sea  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia.  In  the  execution  of  this  plan,  he  fit- 
ted out  a  large  vessel  called  the  Tonquin,  with  men, 
guns,  and  every  thing  that  might  be  'leeded  at  his 
posts  on  the  Pacific  and  the  Columbia.  This  vessel 
was  committed  to  the  hands  of  a  Captain  Thorn, 
a  man  who  may  have  known  how  to  manage  a 
ship,  but  he  certainly  did  not  know  how  to  manage 
savages,  to  the  best  advantage,  or  at  least  for  hia 
own  good.  It  has  always  been  found  to  be  good 
policy  to  treat  them  kindly,  and  not  to  regard  them 
as  civilized  beings,  who  may  be  expected  in  all  in- 
itances  to  do  that  which  is  right.    The  observance 


THB    LOST    TRAPPERg.  S2S 

of  this  kind  of  policy  has  often  prevented  difficul- 
ties, that  would,  in  all  probability,  have  resulted  in 
very  serious  consequences.  It  seems  to  have  been 
the  misfortune  of  the  captain  of  the  Tonquin,  that 
he  was  of  a  petulant  disposition,  and  rough  and 
stem  in  his  manners.  He  was  very  impatient  un- 
der any  provocation,  and  it  would  seem  conceived 
not  only  an  unfavorable  opinion,  but  a  sovereign 
contempt  for  his  crew,  which  were  not  of  the  kind 
of  materials  that  he  admired,  or  would  himself  have 
selected  for  the  voyage.  Entertaining  this  opinion, 
his  suspicious  disposition  made  every  thing  foster 
it.  The  relations  between  the  splenetic  captain 
and  his  men  being  of  a  very  unpleasant  character 
their  trip  was  by  no  means  a  pleasant  one.  After 
a  voyage  of  five  months,  Mr.  Astor's  ship  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  And  if  the  captain 
had  his  trials  before  he  reached  that  point,  his  little 
stock  of  patience  was  now  doomed  to  be  exhausted. 
The  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  according  to  all  ac- 
counts, must  bear  a  very  frightful  aspect,  and  as  it  is 
said  to  have  extensive  sand-bars,  its  entrance  must 
ever  be  very  difficult  and  dangerous  ;  a  fact  that 
will  always  diminish  the  value  of  that  river  in  a 
commercial  point  of  view.  There  seems  to  be  vast 
bodies  of  sand  about  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
that  are  brought  down  by  its  current,  and  accumu- 
late at  its  communication  with  the  ocean.  The 
constant  swelling  of  the  sea,  tends  to  throw  it  back» 
and  thus  it  becomes  an  obstruction  that  must  ever 
be  in  the  way  of  vessels  that  would  enter  that  river. 
The  Tonquin  met  with  delay,  difficulties,  and  dii^ 


224  THE     LOST    TRAPPERS 

asters,  when  she  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
From  shore  to  shore  there  was  a  wild  confusion  of 
angry  waves,  lashed  by  their  collision  into  tumul- 
tuous uproar,  that  spread  fear  through  the  hearts 
of  all  the  crew.  The  Tonquin  stood  out,  aUof  from 
the  danger  that  was  before  her,  for  several  nigkt« 
and  days. 

In  the  meantime,  the  authoritative  captain  sent 
out  a  boat,  under  circumstances  that  seemed  almost 
to  insure  its  loss.  His  conduct  seems  to  have  been 
not  only  very  reprehensible,  but  even  cruel.  Four 
of  his  men  were  ordered  out  in  a  whede  boat,  to 
ascertain  the  channel,  and  to  examine  the  bar 
The  poor  fellows  submissively  entered  the  boat, 
but  they  cast  a  look  upon  the  Tonquin,  accom- 
panied with  tears  in  their  eyes,  as  they  left  her, 
that  showed  that  they  felt  they  were  going  to  a 
watery  grave.  The  mouth  of  this  river  is  upwards 
of  four  miles  wide,  and  at  that  time,  an  angry  sea 
lashed  into  rage  by  a  strong  north-west  wind,  was 
throwing  its  white  foam  and  surges  against  the 
shore,  and  across  the  mouth  of  the  river.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  Tonquin  lost  sight  of  the 
doomed  boat  in  the  tumult  of  angry  waters.  A 
dark,  tempestuous  night  ensued,  and  this  authorised 
the  men  in  the  Tonquin  to  indulge  in  the  most  pain- 
ful anxiety  and  fears  about  the  fate  of  the  whale 
boat.  The  next  day  another  small  boat  was  sent 
to  hunt  the  channel,  as  well  as  to  look  for  the  miss- 
ing boat.  The  fate  of  this  boat  was  nearly  as  sad 
as  that  of  the  first,  as  it  was  capsized  near  the 
ehore,  and  but  two  of  the  crew  made  their  escape 


THB    LOST    TIAPPEKS^  HI 

Tne  whale  boat  was  no  doubt  lost,  as  no  account 
could  be  had  of  it ;  thus,  eight  or  ten  of  the  crew 
of  the  Tonquin  were  lost  before  she  found  shekep 
from  the  storm.  It  is  due  to  Captain  Thorn,  to  say, 
that  when  he  landed,  he  caused  a  diligent  search  to 
be  made  along  the  shore  for  the  men  that  were  ab- 
sent, but  they  could  not  be  found. 

As  this  account  of  Mr.  Aster's  enterprise  in  the 
fur  trade  is  only  intended  to  be  a  hasty  sketch,  we 
would  state  that  the  crew  selected  a  site  for  a  tra- 
ding post,  and  that  all  hands  went  to  work  to  erect 
the  necessary  buildings ;  when  these  were  put  up^ 
the  Tonquin  was  relieved  of  her  cargo,  and  Captain 
Thorn,  in  compliance  with  his  orders,  put  out  into 
the  Pacific^  to  coast  to  the  north.  By  the  way,  an 
Indian  interpreter  was  picked  up  by  the  Tonquin, 
to  aid  them  in  their  intercourse  with  the  savages 
along  the  coast.  This  interpreter  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  various  tribes  with  whom  the 
ship  was  likely  to  meet,  and  when  she  reached 
Vancouver's  Island,  he  informed  Captain  Thorn, 
that  that  part  of  the  coast  was  infested  with  a  very 
treacherous  and  uncertain  tribe,  in  whose  profes- 
sions of  friendship  no  confidence  could  be  reposed 
with  safety.  But  the  captain  was  a  man  of  his 
own  head,  and  did  things  in  his  own  way.  He 
landed  at  said  island,  where  he  was  received  with 
great  apparent  friendship,  by  the  savages,  who 
manifested  a  readiness  to  trade  by  bringing  their 
peltries.  Captain  Thorn,  expecting  a  prompt  and 
ready  sale,  soon  made  quite  a  display  of  that 
variety  of  notions  and  trinkets  that  is  sure  to  take 


220  tH£    LOST    T&AFPERS. 

the  eye  of  the  savage.  He  seems  to  have  calcu- 
lated, too,  upon  getting  their  peltries  at  a  very  re- 
duced price  ;  but  the  natives  had  dealt  with  othei 
vessels  trading  along  the  coast,  and  had  gaint.i 
some  tolerably  correct  idea  of  the  value  of  their 
furs.  When  Captain  Thorn  learned  their  prices,  h«. 
treated  them  and  their  skins  with  contempt,  and 
withdrew  from  them,  much  fretted  and  vexed.  But 
ne  could  not  escape  the  importunities  of  the  sav- 
ages, who,  perhaps  had  not  as  yet,  conceived  any 
bad  designs  against  the  crew  and  the  ship.  It  is 
said,  that  among  the  savages  there  was  an  old 
chief  who  followed  the  captain  to  and  fro,  taunt- 
ing him  with  his  mean  offers  ;  holding  out  at  the 
same  time  a  sample  of  his  skins,  to  tempt  him  to 
buy.  This  was  more  than  the  patience  of  the 
rexed  captain  could  stand.  He  snatched  the  skin 
from  the  hands  of  the  chief,  rubbed  it  in  his  face, 
and  then  kicked  him  overboard.  He  then  in  a  very 
rash  manner,  cleared  the  deck  of  skins  and  savages. 
The  badly  treated  old  chief,  who,  by  his  fall  in  the 
water,  had  been  completely  submerged,  came  again 
to  the  surface,  and  paddled  his  way  in  a  dreadful 
rage  to  the  shore,  from  which,  as  he  cast  his  eyes 
upon  the  Tonquin,  he  seemed  to  mean  to  say,  "  I'U 
have  revenge."  And  revcLge  he  secured,  as  the 
sequel  will  show. 

Some  of  the  crew,  who  were  better  acquainted 
with  Indian  character  than  the  captain,  assured 
him,  the  natives  would  resent  the  indignity  offered 
their  chief,  and  that  it  would  be  very  unsafe  to  re- 
main there.     The  Indian  interpreter  also,  added 


THE    LOST    TRAFPERS.  22? 

his  testimony  to  confirm  the  above  opinion.  Bui 
a  parcel  of  naked  savages  vi^ere  no  terror  to  his 
mind,  nor  was  he  a  man  to  confess  that  any  difficulty 
could  be  brought  about,  by  indiscretion  on  his  part, 
for  he  v/as  not  willing  to  acknowledge  any  indis- 
cretion. On  the  next  day,  some  of  the  savages, 
very  early  in  the  morning  made  their  appearance, 
and  came  along  side  of  the  Tonquin,  in  a  canoe, 
making  signs  of  friendship,  and  manifesting  t 
desire  to  trade. 

As  punctilious  to  a  fault  as  the  captain  W£is  in 
strictly  observing  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Astor,  in 
other  things,  he  here  failed  to  do  as  his  employe! 
had  advised  him,  and  that  was,  to  treat  the  natives 
kindly,  and  not  to  suffer  too  many,  at  a  time,  to  go 
aboard  of  his  ship.  This  precaution  seems  to  have 
escaped  the  mind  of  the  very  scrupulous  captain,  aa 
these  Indians,  notwithstanding  the  occurrence,  were 
permitted  to  mount  the  deck.  Indeed  there  seem? 
to  have  been  no  restraint  of  this  kind  practised,  a? 
one  company  after  another,  as  they  came  in  theii 
canoes,  enjoyed  the  same  unsafe  privilege,  and  i» 
the  space  of  an  hour,  the  Tonquin  was  completel) 
surrounded  with  canoes  full  of  Indians,  and  the  decl 
was  crowded.  The  interpreter,  who,  being  an  In 
dian  himself,  and  knowing  the  perfidy  of  this  tribe 
manifested  great  anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  the  ship 
and  informed  the  captain  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
savages  wore  short  mantles  of  skins,  under  which 
it  was  customary  to  conceal  their  arms.  This  sug 
gestion  met  with  no  better  reception  from  the  cap- 
tain, than  the  advice  that  was  given  at  other  ^mei 


229  THE    LOST    TRAPPERS. 

But  the  crowd  of  canoes  and  Indians  became  00 
dense  that  he,  at  last,  but  when  it  was  too  late, 
became  alarmed,  and  gave  orders  to  push  out  from 
shore.  The  Indians,  as  the  ship  was  about  to  de- 
part, now  intimated,  that  they  would  let  the  captain 
have  their  furs  at  his  own  price,  and  a  brisk  trade 
commenced.  But  they  all  wanted  knives  for  their 
skins,  and  as  fast  as  one  party  was  supplied,  another 
came  forward.  Every  thing  that  occurred  on  this 
occasion,  in  the  view  of  men  at  all  acquainted  with 
Indian  character,  was  calculated  to  prove  that  these 
savages  had  some  hostile  scheme  on  foot. 

And  yet,  mirabUe  dictu^  it  seems,  nothing  of  this 
kind  entered  the  mind  of  the  captain,  until  he  was 
completely  in  their  clutches.  In  the  space  of  an 
nour's  trading,  almost  every  Indian  had  supplied 
himself  with  a  knife.  The  number  of  the  crew  did 
not  exceed  twenty-five  or  thirty;  whilst  the  Indians 
numbered  several  hundred  on  the  ship  and  on  the 
shore.  Having  thus  successfully  armed  themselves, 
the  Indians  had,  in  this,  accomplished  one  import- 
ant part  of  their  plan,  and  were  ready  for  the  work 
of  vengeance.  In  a  moment  a  yell  was  raised  in 
one  part  of  the  deck,  and  was  in  an  instant  respon- 
ded to  in  every  other  part.  Knives  and  war  clubs 
were  now  seen  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  who 
rushed  upon  the  crew.  This  melancholy  affair  is 
graphically  described  in  Irving'?  Astoria,  in  the  fol- 
lowing language.  "  The  first  that  fell,  was  Mr. 
Lewis,  the  ship's  clerk.  He  was  leaning,  with  fol- 
ded arms,  over  a  bale  of  blankets,  engaged  in  bar- 
gaining, when  he  received  a  deadly  stab  in  the  back^ 


THB    LOST    TEAPPBK8. 

Mid  fell  down  the  companion  way.  Mr.  Mc  Kay 
who  was  seated  on  the  tafFrail,  sprang  on  his  feet, 
but  was  instantly  knocked  down  with  a  war  club, 
and  fell  backwards  into  the  sea,  where  he  was  dis- 
patched by  the  women  in  the  canoes.  In  the 
meantime,  Captain  Thorn  made  desperate  fight 
against  fearful  odds.  He  was  a  powerful  as  well 
as  resolute  man,  but  he  had  come  upon  deck  with- 
out weapons.  Shewish,  a  young  chief,  singled  him 
out  as  his  peculiar  prey,  and  rushed  upon  him  at 
the  first  outbreak.  The  captain  had  barely  time  to 
draw  a  clasp-knife,  with  one  blow  of  which  he  laid 
the  young  savage  dead  at  his  feet.  Several  of  the 
stoutest  followers  of  Shewish  now  set  upon  him. 
He  defended  himself  vigorously,  dealing  crippling 
blows  to  the  right  and  left,  and  strewing  the  quar- 
ter deck  with  the  slain  and  wounded.  His  object 
was,  to  fight  his  way  to  the  cabin,  where  there  were 
fire-arms  ;  but  he  was  hemmed  in  with  foes,  cov- 
ered with  wounds,  and  faint  with  loss  of  blood. 
For  an  instant  he  leaned  on  the  tiller  wheel,  when 
a  blow  from  behind  with  a  war  club,  felled  him  to 
the  deck,  where  he  was  dispatched  with  knives,  and 
thrown  overboard. 

While  this  was  transacting  upon  the  quarter 
deck,  a  chance-medley  fight  was  going  on  through- 
out the  ship.  The  crew  fought  desperately,  with 
knives,  hand-spikes,  and  whatever  weapon  they 
could  seize  upon  in  the  moment  of  surprise.  They 
were  soon,  however,  overpowered  by  numbers,  and 
mercilessly  butchered.  As  to  the  seven  who  had 
been  sent  aloft  to  make  sail,  they  contemplated 


280  THB    LOST    TRAPPERS 

with  horror  the  carnage  that  was  going  on  below. 
Being  destitute  of  weapons,  they  let  themselvei 
down  by  the  running  rigging,  in  hopes  of  getting 
between  decks.  One  fell  in  the  attempt,  and  was 
instantly  dispatched;  another,  received  a  death 
blow,  in  his  back,  as  he  was  descending ;  a  third, 
Stephen  Weekes,  the  armorer,  was  mortally  wound- 
ed, as  he  was  getting  down  the  hatchway.  The 
remaining  four  made  good  their  retreat  into  the 
cabin,  where  they  found  Mr.  Lewis,  still  alive, 
though  mortally  wounded.  Barricading  the  cabin 
door,  they  broke  holes  through  the  companion-way, 
and  with  the  muskets  and  ammunition  which  were 
at  hand,  they  opened  a  brisk  fire,  that  soon  cleared 
the  deck.  Thus  far  the  Indian  interpreter,  from 
whom  these  particulars  are  derived,  had  been  an 
eye  witness  of  the  deadly  conflict.  He  had  taken 
no  part  in  it,  and  had  been  spared  by  the  natives, 
as  being  of  their  race.  In  the  confusion  of  the  mo- 
ment, he  took  refuge  with  the  rest,  in  the  canoes 
The  survivors  of  the  crew  now  sallied  forth,  and 
discharged  some  of  the  deck-guns,  which  did  great 
execution  among  the  canoes,  and  drove  all  the 
savages  to  shore. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  day  no  one  ventured  to 
put  off  to  the  ship,  deterred  by  the  effects  of  the 
fire  arms.  The  night  passed  away  -wdthout  any 
further  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  natives.  When 
the  day  dawned,  the  Tonquin  still  lay  at  anchor  in 
the  bay,  her  sails  all  loose  and  flapping  in  the  wind, 
and  no  one  apparently  on  board  of  her.  After  a 
time,  some  of  the  canoes  ventured  forth  to  recon- 


THE    LOST    TRAPFEIS.  8S1 

noitre,  taking  with  them  the  interpreter.  They 
paddled  about,  keeping  cautiously  at  a  distance, 
but  growing  more  and  more  emboldened  at  seeing 
her  quiet  and  lifeless.  One  man,  at  length,  made 
his  appearance  on  deck,  and  was  recognised  by  the 
interpreter,  as  Lewis.  He  made  friendly  signs  and 
invited  them  on  board.  It  was  long  before  they 
ventured  to  comply.  Those  who  mounted  the  deck 
met  with  no  opposition ;  no  one  was  to  be  seen 
aboard;  for  Mr.  Lewis,  after  inviting  them,  had 
disappeared.  Other  canoes  now  pressed  forward 
to  board  the  prize ;  the  deq^  was  soon  crowded,  and 
the  sides  covered  with  clambering  savages,  all  in- 
tent on  plunder.  In  the  midst  of  their  eagerness 
and  exultation,  the  ship  blew  up  Avith  a  tremendous 
explosion.  Arms,  legs  and  mutilated  bodies  were 
blown  into  the  air,  and  dreadful  havoc  was  made 
in  the  surrounding  canoes.  The  interpreter  was  in 
the  main  chain  at  the  time  of  the  explosion,  and 
was  thrown  unhurt  into  the  water,  where  he  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  into  one  of  the  canoes.  Accord- 
ing to  his  statement,  the  bay  presented  an  awful 
spectacle  after  the  catastrophe.  The  ship  had  dis- 
appeared, but  the  bay  was  covered  with  the  frs^- 
ments  of  the  wreck,  with  shattered  canoes,  and 
Indians  swimming  for  their  lives,  or  struggling  in 
the  agonies  of  death ;  while  those  who  had  escaped 
the  danger,  remained  aghast  and  stupified,  or  made 
with  frantic  panic  for  the  shore.  Upwards  of  a 
hundred  savages  were  destroyed  by  the  explosion, 
many  "nore  were  shockingly  mutilated,  and  for  daya 


S82  THE    LOST    TRAPPEll. 

afterwards  the  limbs  and  bodies  of  the  slain  were 
thrown  upon  the  beach. 

The  inhabitants  were  overwhelmed  with  con- 
sternation at  the  astounding  calamity  which  had 
burst  upon  them  in  the  very  moment  of  triumph. 
The  warriors  sat  mute  and  mournful,  while  the 
women  filled  the  air  with  loud  lamentations.  Their 
weeping  and  wailing,  however,  was  suddenly  turned 
into  yells  of  fury  at  the  sight  of  four  unfortunate 
white  men,  brought  captive  into  their  village 
They  had  been  driven  on  shore,  in  one  of  the  ship's 
boats,  and  taken  at  some  distance,  along  the  coast 

The  interpreter  was  permitted  to  converse  with 
them.  They  proved  to  be  the  four  brave  fellows 
who  had  made  such  defence  from  the  cabin.  The 
interpreter  gathered  from  them  some  of  the  particu- 
lars already  related.  They  told  him  further,  that, 
after  they  had  beaten  off  the  enemy  and  cleared  the 
ship,  Lewis  advised  that  they  should  slip  the  cable 
and  endeavor  to  get  to  sea.  They  declined  to 
take  his  advice,  alledging  that  the  wdnd  set  too 
strongly  in  the  bay  and  would  drive  them  on  shore. 
They  resolved  as  soon  as  it  was  dark,  to  put  off 
quietly  in  the  ship's  boat,  which  they  would  be  able 
to  do  unperceived,  and  to  coast  along  back  to  As- 
toria. They  put  their  resolution  into  effect ;  but 
Lewis  refused  to  accompany  them,  being  disabled 
by  his  wound,  hopeless  of  escape,  and  determined 
on  a  terrible  revenge.  On  the  voyage  out,  he  had 
repeatedly  expressed  a  presentiment,  that  he  should 
die  by  his  own  hands  ;  thinking  it  highly  probable 
that  he  should  be  engaged  in  some  contest  with  the 


TBI    LOST 


natives,  and  being  resolved,  in  case  of  extremity,  to 
commit  suicide,  rather  than  be  made  a  prisoner.  He 
now  declared  his  intention  to  remain  on  board  of 
the  ship  until  daylight,  to  decoy  as  many  of  the  sav- 
ages on  board  as  possible,  then  to  set  fire  to  the 
powder  magazine,  and  terminate  his  life  by  a  sig- 
nal act  of  vengeance.  How  well  he  succeeded  has 
been  shown.  His  companions  bade  him  a  melan- 
choly adieu,  and  set  off  on  their  precarious  expedi- 
tion. They  strove  with  might  and  main  to  get  out 
of  the  bay,  but  found  it  impossible  to  weather  a 
point  of  land,  and  were  at  length  compelled  to  take 
shelter  in  a  small  cove,  where  they  hoped  to  remain 
concealed,  until  the  wind  should  be  more  favorable. 
Exhausted  by  fatigue  and  watching,  they  fell  into  a 
sound  sleep,  and  in  that  state  were  surprised  by  the 
natives.  Better  had  it  been  for  those  unfortunate 
men  had  they  remained  with  Lewis,  and  shared  his 
heroic  death :  as  it  was,  they  perished  in  a  more 
painful  and  protracted  manner,  being  sacrificed  by 
the  natives  to  the  manes  of  their  friends,  with  all  the 
lingering  tortures  of  savage  cruelty.  Sometime  afler 
their  death,  the  interpreter,  who  had  remained  a  kind 
of  prisoner  at  large,  effected  his  escape,  and  brought 
the  tragical  tidings  to  Astoria.'*  Such  was  the 
fate,  and  such  is  the  melancholy  story  of  the  Ton- 
quin.  We  have  been  somewhat  minutq  in  our  de- 
tails as  regards  this  part  of  Mr.  As  tor's  enterprise, 
because  we  regard  the  fate  of  his  ship  as  the  most 
tragical  event  belonging  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  fur- 
trade.  For  a  fuller  and  more  accurate  account  of 
Mr.  Afltor's  herculean  enterprise,  which  failed,  by  his 
SO 


234  TBB     LOST     TRAPPEIS 

trading  post  or  factory  falling  into  the  hands  of  tha 
English,  during  the  late  war,  we  refer  the  reader  to 
irv'ing's  Astoria,  a  book,  which  is  certainly  one  of 
the  best  of  the  many  valuable  productions  of  the 
popular  author,  Washington  Irving. 

After  the  return  of  peace,  and  when  the  trading 
post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  was  surrendered^ 
Mr.  Astor  sought  to  renew  his  enterprise,  and  to 
start  it  afresh ;  but  he  was  not  successful  in  securing 
the  fostering  aid  of  the  general  government,  and 
the  factory  at  Astoria  was  transferred  to  Vancouver. 
The  Hudson  Bay  Company  enjoyed  a  perfect  mo- 
nopoly and  had  the  uninterrupted  sway  over  all  the 
country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  until  1823, 
when  Mr.  Ashley  made  a  successful  expedition  be- 
yond  the  mountains  ;  and  in  1826  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Fur  Company  of  St.  Louis  conmienced  regular 
expeditions  to  the  borders  of  the  Columbia  and  Col- 
orado. The  American  Fur  Company  then  extended 
their  operations.  Through  all  the  intermediate 
countr}^  also,  that  is,  on  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, Missouri,  Yellow  Stone,  Platte,  Arkansas,  &c. 
the  various  fur  companies  arie  carrj'ing  on  their  op- 
erations Each  company  has  a  number  of  men 
(trappers,)  in  their  employment,  whose  services  are 
engaged  at  a  fixed  price,  by  the  year.  There  is 
also  another  class  of  men,  who  are  called  free 
trappers,  from  the  fact,  that  they  are  not  hired  by 
the  year,  but  whilst  they  enjoy  the  protection  of  the 
company,  they  sell  the  peltries  they  obtain  to  said 
company. 

In  the  mountains,  these  companies  have  their 


THE    LOST    TRAPPERS.  239 

fixed  places  for  their  yearly  rendezvous,  where  the 
scattered  trappers  come  in  from  every  quarter, 
bringing  their  furs,  which  they  may  have  procured 
the  past  trapping  season.  At  these  places  they  are 
met  by  their  employers,  or  their  agents,  who  come 
from  the  states,  generally  from  St.  Louis,  with  their 
loads  of  merchandise.  It  is  an  annual  meeting, 
when  the  hired  trappers  receive  their  pay,  and  the 
iV'.;^  trappers  bring  their  beavers  to  trade.  The  In 
di  ms  also,  come  in  from  the  country  around,  and 
are  present  to  trade.  Some  two  months  are  gene- 
rally spent  by  all  parties  at  one  of  those  grand 
Btampadoes,  as  the  skin  of  the  beaver,  at  that  time^ 
(July  and  August)  is  of  no  value,  and  the  trapperi 
have  nothing  to  do.  The  scene  that  one  of  these 
yearly  rendezvous  presents  is  truly  one  that  is  sm 
generis,  and  to  a  person  that  has  witnessed  nothing 
beyond  the  dull  monotony  of  civilized  life,  very  ex- 
citing and  strange. 

After  the  brisk  trade,  that  is  usually  kept  up  for 
several  days,  the  men  are  seen  resorting  to  every 
expedient  to  pass  away  their  time  ;  such  as  shoot- 
ing, playing  cards,  horse  racing,  wTestling,  foot 
racing,  passing  from  camp  to  camp,  cracking  theii 
jokes,  and  telling  anecdotes,  and  hair-breadth  es- 
capes, dancing  and  courting  ;  courting  whom  ?  the 
reader  may  ask.  Why,  courting  the  young  squaws* 
who  assemble  there,  to  accomplish  their  ends,  to 
wit:  by  their  smiles,  charms,  and  graces,  to  win 
the  hearts  of  the  trappers,  who,  in  their  view,  are  a 
superior  order  of  beings.  To  be  a  trapper's  wife, 
in  the  eye  of  a  mountain  belle,  is  the  perfection  of 


236  THE    LOST    TRArPEfiS. 

good  luck,  the  heighth  of  her  coquettish  ambition. 
The  reader  must  not  be  surprised,  when  we  use 
the  term  coquettish.  These  dames  of  nature,  like 
their  sex  in  civilized  life,  are  fond  of  conquests  of 
this  kind,  and  to  obtain  them,  they  paint  and  bo- 
deck  their  persons,  and  flirt  about,  smile  and  look 
pretty,  and  cast  their  shy-loving  glances  on  those 
upon  whose  hearts  they  may  desire  to  make  their 
impressions.  And  by  the  way,  let  me  tell  you,  they 
often  succeed  in  their  love  adventures,  and  can  ap- 
ply the  language  of  another,  as  to  their  undertaking, 
and  say,  veni,  vidi^  vici.  Many  of  those  men  en- 
gaged in  the  fur  business,  indeed  a  majority  of 
them,  have  their  Indian  wives,  and  show  to  the 
world,  that,  if  not  in  other  things,  at  least,  in  this 
particuto,  they  are  disposed  to  revere  the  authority 
of  that  Book,  which  tells  us  "  to  marry,  multiply 
and  replenish  the  earth  ;"  and  that  they  are  firm  be- 
lievers at  least,  in  one  doctrine  of  that  Book,  which 
teaches  that  "it  is  not  good  that  man  should  be 
alone." 

Among  the  articles  of  trade,  at  these  rendezvous, 
is  a  due  supply  of  the  "  O  !  be  joyful,"  as  the  New 
Englanders  call  it,  alias,  alcohol,  which  is  said  to 
be  retailed  at  four  dollars  a  pint.  It  is  diluted 
with  water,  so  as  to  bring  it  to  the  strength  of 
whiskey.  It  is  taken  into  the  Rocky  mountains  in 
the  form  of  alcohol,  because  it  is  more  portable. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  excitement  at 
these  rendezvous  is  greatly  increased  by  the  use  of 
this  artificial  stimulant. 

The  principal  points  of  these  yearly  meetings  of 


THE     LOST    THAPPERS..  837 

•ur  trappers,  are  the  Green  (Colorado)  river  valley, 
and  Pierre's  Hole.  Here  hundreds  and  hundreds, 
of  hunters,  trappers,  traders,  and  Indians  are  assem 
bled  from  two  to  three  months.  Before  this  season 
of  festivity  and  idleness  comes  to  a  close,  the  men 
become  impatient,  and  desire  again  to  dash  into  the 
wilderness  and  engage  in  their  exciting  employ- 
ment. Two  trappers  generally  go  together.  The 
outfit  of  a  trapper  is  seven  traps,  a  rifle  of  course, 
an  axe,  a  hatchet,  four  pounds  of  lead  and  one  of 
powder,  several  blankets,  a  knife,  an  awl,  and  a 
camp-kettle.  He  is  furnished  with  two  or  three 
horses  for  his  trip.  Each  trapping  party  takes 
some  particuleir  stream  and  region,  as  the  field  of 
their  operations,  to  which  they  repair,  and  where 
they  make  the  necessary  preparations  for  their  stay 
there. 

In  the  trapping  season,  these  adventurous  mer 
are  scattered  all  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  along 
every  stream,  and  about  every  lake  or  pool  of 
water,  setting  their  traps  for  their  favorite  game, 
and  in  the  midst  of  danger,  eagerly  pursuing  their 
favorite  avocation.  Men  who  have  spent  several 
years  in  this  kind  of  life,  seldom  relish  a  civilized 
life.  When  they  come  to  the  states,  they  soon  be- 
come restless  and  impatient,  and  again  seek  the 
haunts  of  the  wilderness. 

The  state  of  things  on  the  waters  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  is  somewhat  different  from  that 
in  the  mountains.  On  those  waters  our  citizens 
have  their  forts  regularly  and  safely  constructed, 
and  some  of  them  mounted  with  guns.    These  forts 


238  THB     LOST    TSAPPEBI. 

arc  constructed  in  reference  to  the  trade  that  the 
company  expects  to  cany  on  vnth  the  different 
tribes  ;  for  example,  a  fort  that  is  intended  to  reap 
the  profits  of  a  trade  with  the  Crow  Indians,  ia 
situated  in  some  place  in  their  country  most  likely 
to  enjoy  that  advantage.  Again,  as  the  various 
western  tribes  generally  occupy  a  hostile  attitude 
toward  each  other,  a  company  trading  with  a  par- 
ticular tribe,  must,  apparently  at  least,  go  with  that 
tribe  in  their  hostile  feelings  toward  a  neighboring 
tribe.  The  Crows  and  Black- feet  sire  deadly  foes. 
A  company  trading  with  the  Crows  must  unite  with 
them  against  the  Black-feet;  and  the  Black-feet 
will  regard  said  company  as  hostile  to  them,  because 
they  trade  with  their  enemies,  and  will  treat  them 
as  such.  This  attitude,  which  the  companies  are 
compelled  to  assume,  or  which,  are  rather  assigned 
them,  frequently  involves  them  in  difiiculties  that  re- 
sult in  the  loss  of  life.  I  remember  a  fact  communi- 
cated to  me  by  a  free  trapper,  who  was  with  a  com- 
pany forted  on  the  Maria  river,  in  the  Crow  country. 
The  captain  of  the  fort  had,  as  a  vidfe,  a  Crow 
Indian  squaw,  who  was  so  remarkably  vigilant, 
that  nothing  could  occur  without  her  knowing  it. 
Indeed  she  was  said  to  have  saved  the  lives  of  the 
men  in  the  fort  on  various  occasions,  by  giving 
them  timely  notice  of  their  danger,  and  by  her  con- 
stant watchfulness. 

On  one  occasion,  she  reported  a  band  of  Indians 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fort,  whose  movements 
indicated  hostile  intentions.  By  the  aid  of  a  glass 
it  was  ascertained  that  they  were  Black-feet,  who 


THE    LOST     TRAPPSIS.  23^' 

were  disposed  to  hover  around  the  fort.  As  it  wat 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  an  eye  was  itept  u}iij*' 
them  until  dark,  when  the  men  of  the  fort  turned 
out  to  hunt  for  them,  and  found  them  within  an  old 
breast-work  of  logs,  where  they  had  intended  to 
camp  for  the  night.  There  were  nineteen  of  them, 
and;  as  it  was  supposed,  they  were  Black-feet. 
They  were  easily  taken  and  conveyed  to  the  for^ 
to  be  disposed  of  as  the  company  might  thinh 
proper.  When  they  were  taken  into  the  fort,  the}' 
asked  some  of  the  Grows,  that  were  in  the  fort,  to 
give  them  some  water.  Their  request  was  granted, 
and  when  they  received  it,  they  asked  the  Crows  to 
drink  with  them ;  this  the  Crows  declined,  by  sha- 
king their  heads.  At  their  request,  something  to 
eat  was  next  furnished  them;  they  desired  the 
Crows  to  eat  with  them,  which  was  also  declined 
by  a  shake  of  the  head.  They  then  asked  for  a 
pipe,  in  the  smoking  of  which  they  asked  the  Crowa 
to  join  them.  This  w^as  also  declined  in  the  samo 
manner.  The  object  of  these  requests  was  to  as 
certain  something  about  their  fate,  and  when  they 
perceived  that  the  Crows  were  not  disposed  to  do 
any  thing  that  indicated  an  amicable  spirit,  the 
poor  fellows  seemed  to  know  the  doom  that  await- 
ed them.  The  Crows  joined  with  them  in  a  con 
versation  that  lasted  all  night.  The  next  morning 
one  after  another  was  shot,  and  thrown  into  the 
river.  The  company  were  not  at  liberty  to  pursue 
any  other  course,  as  they  were  in  the  country 
of  the  Crows,  and  trading  with  them,  and  enjoying 
their  protectioii. 


240  THE     LOST     T&APPB18» 

Such  is  the  character  of  many  transactions  that 
make  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  fur  trade ;  facts 
that  cannot  tend  to  conciliate  the  natives  generally, 
and  prompt  them  to  regard  the  white  man  as  their 
friend  and  benefactor.  Notwithstanding  occur- 
rences of  this  kind,  which  are  greatly  to  be  deplored, 
the  inducements  held  out  to  great  gain,  by  this  trade, 
have  been  the  means  of  thoroughly  exploring  that 
vast  wilderness  between  the  states  and  the  Pacific. 
Indeed  it  has  opened  the  way  to  Oregon  and  Cali- 
fornia, and  laid  open  those  vast  and  fertile  countries 
to  invite  the  thousands  that  are  now  emigrating 
there,  and  to  encourage  thousands  more  to  go.  Such, 
however,  has  been  the  vigor  with  w^hich  this  busi- 
ness has  been  prosecuted,  that  it  seems  destined  to 
be  soon  extinguished,  with  the  race  of  fur-bearing 
animals,  that  are  fast  vanishing  from  both  sides  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 


^  P  P  E  M  D  I 


31 


APPENDIX. 


WAY  BILL  TO  OREGON. 

All  f  'fegoa  Emigrant  furnishes  the  following  way  bill  to  Oregon : 

Mnn. 
PVom  liide|ieadence,  Missouri,  to  Blue,  at  Burnett's  trace  520 

From  Blue  to  Big  Platte     25 

dp  Platte     25 

Up  the  same    •< • 117 

Across  the  North  Fork  of  the  same     .  • ■  .     31 

Up  North  Fork  to  Cedar  Grove 18 

Up  the  same  to  Chimney  Rock ••••••      18 

To  Scott's  Bluffs 20 

To  Fort  Laramie • 38 

From  Fort  Laramie  to  theBig  Springs  at  the  Foot  of 

the  Black  Hills 8 

To  Keryene  North  Fork 30 

To  the  crossing  of  the  same •••••     34 

To  Sweet  water 55 

Up  Sweet  water  to  the  snow  on  the  Rocky  Mountains     60 

To  the  main  divide  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 40 

To  the  waters  running  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  •  •  •  •  •  2 

To  LitUe  Sandy 14 

C«43) 


i44  APPCVDIX  'I 


To  Big  Sandy 14 

To  Green  River 25 

Down  the  same ••....  12 

To  Black  Fork  of  Green  river 22 

To  Fort  Bridger 36 

To  Koax  river 33 

Down  the  same  to  tlie  hills  that  run  through  the  same  57 

Down  the  same  to  the  great  Sandustry 38 

To  Partinith,  first  waters  of  the  Columbia 25 

To  Fort  Hall,  on  Snake  river    • •••••  58 

To  Partinith  again • •  11 

To  Rock  Creek 87 

To  Sahnon  Falls 42 

To  the  crossing  of  Snake  River 27 

To  the  Boiling  Springs 19 

Down  the  same  to  Fort  Boise 40 

To  Burnt  river 41 

Up  the  same • •  26 

Across  to  Powder,  to  the  Lamepens 18 

To  Grand  Round 15 

To  Utilla  river.  Blue  mount 43 

To  Dr.  Whiteman's 29 

To  Walla-walla     25 

From  Walla-walla  to  Dalles a20 

From  Dalles  to  Vancouver 100 

Wliole  distance  from  Independence,  Missouri,  to  Van- 
eoarer  in  Oregon  is  2,021  Miles 2081 


APrBHDIX.  $45 


EXTENT  OF  THE  OREGON  TERRITORY. 

On  the  east,  it  skirts  eight  hundred  miles  along  the  Rucky 
Mountains ;  on  the  south,  three  hundred  miles  along  the 
Snowy  Mountains,  on  the  west,  seven  lumdred  miles  along 
the  Pacific  ocean ;  on  the  north,  two  hundred  and  forty  miles 
along  the  North  American  possessions  of  Russia  and  Eng- 
land. The  area  of  this  immense  valley  contains  360,000 
square  miles,  capable  undoubtedly,  of  forming  seven  states 
as  large  as  New  York,  or  forty  states  of  the  dimensions  of 
Massachusetts.  Some  of  the  islands  on  the  coast  are  very 
large — sufficient  to  form  a  state  by  themselves.  These  are 
situated  north  of  the  parallel  of  forty-eight.  Vancouver's 
Island,  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  length  and  fifty  in 
breadth,  contains  12,000  square  miles — an  area  larger  than 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  Queen  Charlotte's,  oi 
rather  Washington  Island,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in 
length  and  thirty  in  breadth,  contains  4000  square  miles. 
On  both  of  these  immense  islands,  though  they  lie  be- 
tween the  high  parallels  of  forty-eight  and  fifty-five  de- 
grees, the  soil  is  said  to  be  well  adapted  to  agriculture. 

The  straits  and  circumjacent  waters  abound  in  fish  of  the 
finest  quality.  Coal  of  good  quality,  and  other  mines  of 
minerals,  have  been  found. 


THE   SOUTH    PASS. 

Captain  Fremont  describes  this  avenue  to  the  Oregon 
territory  as  one  of  easy  access  and  gradual  elevation.  It 
is  situated  not  far  north  of  the  forty-second  parallel,  which  is 
\he  boundary  between  our  territory  and  that  of  Mexico. 

**The  ascent  had  been  so  gradual,  that  with  all  the  intimate 


246  APPBVPix 

knowledge  possessed  by  Carso'J,  who  had  made  this  coti»< 
try  his  home  for  seventeen  years,  we  were  obliged  to  watck 
rery  closely  to  find  the  place  at  which  we  had  reached  the 
colminating  point.  This  was  between  two  low  hUls,  rising 
on  either  hand  fifty  or  sixty  feet.  When  I  looked  back  at 
them,  from  the  foot  of  the  intermediate  slope  on  the  wes- 
tern plain,  their  summits  appeared  to  be  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  above. 

*  From  the  impression  on  my  mind  at  the  time  and  subse- 
quently on  my  return,  I  should  compare  the  elevation  which 
we  surmounted  immediately  at  tlie  Pass,  to  the  ascent  of 
the  Capitol  hill  from  the  avenue  at  Washington. 

"  The  width  of  tlie  Pass  is  estimated  at  about  nineteen 
miles.  It  has  nothing  of  the  gorge-like  character  an^ 
winding  ascents  of  the  Allegany  passes — nothing  resembling 
the  St.  Bernard  or  Simplon  passes  of  the  Alps.  For  one 
hundred  miles  the  elevation  is  regular  and  gradual.  It  pre- 
sents the  aspect  of  a  sandy  plain ;  and  the  traveler,  without 
being  reminded  of  any  change  by  toilsome  ascent,  suddenly 
finds  himself  on  the  waters  that  flow  to  the  Pacific  ocean 
The  importance  of  this  Pass  is  immense.  It  opens  the 
way  into  the  valley  of  Oregon,  and  is  the  only  avenue  to  tlia/ 
eountry  from  the  interior,  for  a  long  distance.  By  observing 
the  map,  it  will  be  seen  that  three  great  rivers  take  their  rise 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Pass ;  the  Platte,  the  Columbia, 
and  Colorado.  The  first  is  a  tributary  of  the  Missouri ;  the 
•econd,  draining  all  Oregon,  discharges  all  its  accumulated 
waters  into  the  Pacific;  the  tliird  flows  southwardly,  and 
empties  into  the  bay  of  California.  From  the  South  P<»ss, 
then,  as  a  central  point,  three  great  valleys  are  commanded. 
It  is  the  key  to  California ;  it  opens  the  whole  Oregon  coun* 
try  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  tliC  Western  ocean;  and 
it  subjects  both  these  great  regions  to  the  control  of  the  Mis* 
^issippi  valley/' 


APPENDIX.  247 

Ajb  the  South  Pass  is  in  our  undisputed  territo.  ',  its  im- 
portance will  doubtless  attract  the  attention  of  the  govern- 
ment. Fort  Laramie,  on  me  Pratte,  about  three  hundred 
miles  from  the  Pass,  is  mentioned  by  Capt.  Fremont  as  a 
•uitable  point  for  a  national  post ;  it  is  now  merely  a  station 
foi  traders.  If  the  President's  recommendation  is  carried  out 
to  construct  forts  and  block  houses  on  the  rouiB  to  Oregon, 
hese  important  points  will  doubtless  be  regarded. 

i  LETTER  FROM   THE    AUTHOR   TO  A 
FRIEND   IN  VIRGINIA. 

Boonvilkf  Cooper  County ^  Mssouri,  May  20M,  1846. 
^Y  Dear  Sir  : 

In    your   last  communication,    which  I 

had  the  pleasure  of  receiving,  you  state  that  you  are  think- 
ing about  emigrating  from  Virginia  to  Missouri,  and  per- 
haps to  Oregon ;  if  the  inducements  to  engage  in  such  an 
undertaking  were  sufficiently  great,  and  if  you  can  be  satisfied 
thaw  the  descriptions  you  have  had  of  this  country  and  Ore- 
gon were  true ;  and  you  ask  of  me,  an  honest  and  candid 
answer  to  a  number  of  important  questions,  which  you 
very  correcdy  say,  interest  every  one,  who  thinks  of  going 
to  the  west. 

In  answer,  then,  to  your  letter,  allow  me  to  say,  that  I 
know  not  what  you  may  have  read,  and  what  you  may  have 
heard  about  this  country  and  that  farther  west ;  but  I  would 
state,  there  are  two  classes  of  witnesses,  who  bear  a  testi- 
mony pro  and  con,  in  relation  to  this  country,  to  which  I 
do  not  attach  much  truth.  The  first  embraces  those  who 
indulge  in  the  most  extravagant  language,  as  to  the  advantages 
of  this  country,  and  describe  on  paper  a  country  that  is  not 
to  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Where  such  persons 
ure  believed,  they  of  course  mislead.  Many  persons,  receiT. 


348  APPBN  DIX  . 

iOg  their  statements  as  true,  emigrate  to  the  west,  and  are 
disappointed,  and  of  coarse  dissatisfied.  The  second  class 
embraces  those,  who  are  so  dissatisfied  with  the  country,  thai 
they  cannot  say  a  word  in  its  favor.  They  forward  to  their 
friends  in  the  old  states,  very  doleful  and  disheartening 
accounts  of  the  country ;  and  indeed  many  such  persons 
retom  back  to  the  place  from  which  they  emigrated.  I  have 
known  some  who  incurred  all  tlie  expense  and  trouble  of 
coming  here,  and  instead  of  examining  the  country,  they  be- 
came dissatisfied,  and  went  immediately  back  to  the  old 
ftates,  giving  a  miserable  account  of  a  country  they  had 
never  seen.  The  information,  which  such  persons  give  of 
Ihe  west,  cannot  therefore  be  relied  on  as  correct. 

You  ask  me  to  account  for  the  mania  for  Oregon  that 
prevails  in  Missouri,  and  you  seem  to  think  that  it  does  not 
•ay  much  in  favor  of  our  Slate,  that  so  many  of  our  citizens 
are  leaving  it,  to  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  you  also  in- 
quire, what  is  the  general  character  of  the  people  who  are 
emigrating  from  this  country  to  Oregon.  You  will  remember 
that  the  distance  from  Independence  to  tlie  white  setdement 
on  the  Columbia  and  its  afiluents,  is  about  two  thousand 
miles,  and  that  it  takes  the  greater  part  of  a  summer  season 
to  make  the  trip ;  and  you  must  know  that  no  very  small 
amount  of  means  is  essential  to  procure  the  necessary  out^ 
fit  It  may,  therefore,  be  taken  for  granted,  that  the  emi- 
grants from  our  state  who  are  seeking  a  home  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  belong  to  the  most  enterprising  and  pa- 
tient and  resolute  portion  of  our  population,  and  are  very 
far  from  being  the  poorest  people  in  the  country.  They 
•re  a  class  of  people  that  are  not  easily  intimidated  by  dif« 
Acuities  which  they  may  meet  in  life,  and  who  are  in  pos- 
•essio"  of  the  secret,  that  tlie  way  to  be  able  to  accom- 
pUfk  o  )jee;,  is  to  **believe  you  can  do  U,  and  you  can  do 
iL**     'i     y  are  rather  difierent  from  those  who  have  acted 


APPENDIX.  240 

flie  p^  jf  pioneers  in  the  western  states,  and  whose  object, 
in  part  at  least,  seems  to  have  been  to  avoid  the  restriction  of 
salutary  law  and  order,  and  "  to  follow  the  game,"  which 
ivtcedes  before  more  well  organized  society.  Among  the 
hundreds  and  hundreds,  that  leave  us,  there  are  many,  who 
are  actuated  by  the  very  laudable  purpose  of  carrying  the 
principles  of  our  religion  and  government  to  that  part  of 
the  world,  and  laying  the  foundation  of  institutions,  of  a  civil 
and  religious  character,  that  will  prove  great  blessings  to  all 
wiio  may  settle  there,  as  well  as  to  the  ignorant  and  degraded 
natives.  It  is  true,  many  are  going  there  without  any  other 
specific  object,  than  simply  to  be  moving,  or  to  find  a  coun 
try  where  ♦*  they  will  be  satisfied ;"  an  object,  by  the  way, 
which  they  in  all  probability,  will  never  attain.  They  spem 
too,  to  explain  your  question,  why  so  many  are  leaving  this 
state.  When  men  have  once  dissolved  ilte  relations  tliat  bind 
them  to  the  country  of  their  nativity  and  eAwation,  to  seek  a 
location  in  the  west,  it  may  be  said,  with  too  much  truth,  of 
the  majority  of  them,  that  they  are  unsettled  for  the  remain 
der  of  their  days.  "Having  moved  once,  they  are  ever  ready 
to  move  again ;"  and  then  the  finest  country  is  always  ahead. 
In  this  city  (Boonville),  now  numbering  between  three  and 
four  thousand  inhabitants,  I  have  been  told,  the  population 
has  undergone  an  almost  entire  change  within  the  last  five 
years.  That  is,  very  few  of  the  citizens  who  were  Uving  here 
five  years  ago,  are  here  now.  In  the  old  states,  you  know, 
it  is  very  difiicult  to  buy  a  valuable  farm  almost  at  any  price, 
from  the  fact  that  the  proportion  of  good  land  is  very 
small,  and  men  do  not  like  to  dispossess  themselves  of  com- 
fortable homes.  All  over  the  western  states,  it  may  be  said 
to  h6  difierent.  Beautiful  and  very  fertile  land  abounds,  in 
every  direction,  and  a  pretty,  splendid  farm  seems  to  be  no 
great  desideratum^  because  every  one  may  have  it  In 
this  country,  too,  the  mtyority  are  disposed  to  sell,  for  at 


250  APFENDIX. 

reasjn,  that  we  can  assign,  except  to  be  going  ahead,  and 
reaching  Aat  elysium,  that  fills  the  eye  of  the  unsettled 
emigrant,  and  enchants  him  along,  from  country  to  country, 
until  he  finds  himself  on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  or 
Colorado  of  the  west.  These  statements  may  serve  to  fur- 
nish one  reason,  why  so  many  are  leaving  this  country  for 
Oregon.  But  many  are  emigrating  from  Oregon  to  California, 
for  the  same  reason,  that  they  move  from  this  State  to  Ore- 
gon. As  to  going  to  Oregon,  my  opinion  is,  that  if  a  man 
cannot  do  well  in  this  State,  where  he  can  get  as  good  land, 
as  he  can  get  in  Oregon  or  California,  and  at  government 
price  in  the  bargain  ($1,25  per  acre),  he  cannot  do  better  by 
crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

I  have  read  every  thing  that  has  been  written,  professing 
to  give  us  a  description  of  Oregon,  and  I  have  yet  to  learn 
in  what  respect  that  country  has  one  advantage  which  this 
country  does  not  possess.  And  I  have  frequently  conversed 
with  men,  who  have  crossed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
and  not  only  carefully  examined  all  the  intervening  coun< 
try,  but  have  remained  for  several  years  in  Oregon,  and  ] 
have  never  been  able  to  learn  why  that  country  is  to  be 
preferred  to  this.  Yet  I  believe  we  should  do  nothing  to  dis- 
courage emigration  to  Oregon  or  California.  Great  good  will 
result  from  it  to  the  world.  It  will  put  that  vast  territory  in 
the  possession  of  a  civilized  and  christian  people,  who  will 
apply  it  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended  by  the 
great  Creator  of  the  universe.  It  is  certainly  a  thing  to  be 
desired,  that  all  parts  of  the  face  of  our  earth  should  be  re 
claimed  from  savage  life,  and  be  occupied  by  an  enlightened 
people.  The  good  of  the  human  family  requires  this,  and 
the  christian  religion  sanctions  it. 

The  more  territory  there  is  in  the  far  west  to  be  occupies, 
the  more  reduced  will  be  the  price  of  land.  This  is  anothei 
good  resulting  from  the  great  emigration  to  Oregon.     It 


APPEVBIX.  251 

lends  to  keep  down  the  price  of  land  in  the  western  states, 
&  circumstance  that  greatly  favors  emigrants  to  the  frontier 
states,  whose  means  are  generally  limited,  if  they  have  any 
means  at  all.  The  price  of  land  in  this  State  is  said  to 
have  been  higher  twenty  years  ago,  than  it  is  now,  and  it  is 
likely  to  continue  low.  For  if  our  government  should  ac- 
quire the  Californias,  or  Upper  Californi?  only,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  predict,  although  I  am  not  a  prophet  nor  the  son 
if  a  prophet,  that  the  emigration  from  the  frontier  states, 
westward,  will  greatly  exceed  the  emigration  into  those 
«tates.  This  must,  of  course,  keep  down  the  price  of  land 
in  said  states  and  territories.  I  am  inclined,  therefore,  to 
think,  that  land  in  this  State  in  your  and  my  life-time,  will 
not  reach  a  very  high  price. 

I  have  said  that  I  did  not  knoWi  for  I  never  have  been  able 
to  learn,  what  advantage  Oregon  has  over  this  part  of  the 
world.  Now  it  is  generally  conceded  that  Oregon  is  not  a 
com  country^  and  this  in  my  opinion  is  a  very  great  objec- 
tion to  it.  As  long  as  I  can  find  a  com  country,  I  do  not 
expect  to  live  m  any  other.  The  great  variety  of  useful 
purposes  which  this  kind  of  grain  answers  (and  answers 
better),  tlian  any  thing  else,  must  make  the  country  that 
grows  it  more  valuable  than  those  countries  that  do  not 
grow  it.  How  would  we,  Virginians  and  Kentuckians,  do 
without  it.  "We  must  have  our  "/to^  and  hominony,^^  and 
we  never  would  be  willing  to  live  in  a  country,  where  we 
could  not  raise  it.  Such  a  country,  I  understand  Oregon  to 
be. 

If  any  one  does  not  know  the  advantages  of  a  com  grow- 
ing country,  let  him  compare  the  many  uses  to  which  this 
grain  is  applied,  with  the  very  few  purposes  to  which  wheat 
is  applied,  and  he  will  at  once  see  tliat  it  is  much  easier  to 
get  along  without  wheat,  than  corn.  Oregon  is  said  to  oe  a 
fine  wheat  o>untry,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  climate  is 


253  APPEHDIX. 

better  adapted  to  the  growing  of  that  kind  of  grain  than  any 
other ;  but  then  you  may  depend  upon  it,  it  is  no  better,  foi 
example,  than  north  Illinois,  Iowa,  Wisconsin  or  Missouri. 
I  hope  you  will  not  misunderstand  me  I  am  only  com- 
paring Oregon  with  this  country,  with  the  view  of  answer* 
ing  your  question.  It  is  a  fine  country,  but  in  my  opinion 
not  superior  to  this.  Nor  am  I  to  be  understood  as  aiming 
to  discourage  emigration  to  that  country.  I  would  rather 
encourage  it,  and  say  nothing  that  would  cast  a  damper  over 
tlie  feelings  of  the  emigrant,  and  cause  him  to  abandon  his 
purpose. 

In  answer  to  your  question  about  the  soil  of  Missouri,  I 
reply,  that  it  is  as  fertile  as  that  of  any  country,  I  mean 
the  river  bottom  land.  The  prairie  (table)  land  is  not  so 
rich,  and  on  that  account  the  first  settlements  were  made  in 
iihe  timber,  which  is  pretty  much  confined  to  the  water  cour- 
ses. For  the  last  few  years,  the  river  lands  have  not  been 
valued  so  high,  from  the  fact  that  they  are  liable  to  be  over- 
flown once  a  year.  The  larger  class  of  rivers  in  this  State 
rise  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  every  spring  they  are 
swelled  to  an  enormous  size  from  the  melting  of  the  snow 
iW  those  mountains.  This  is  called  the  June  rise,  and  at 
that  season  of  the  year  can  do  a  great  deal  of  injury.  On 
this  account,  the  earlier  settlers  of  this  State,  who  located 
themselves  on  the  bottom  lands,  have  generally  moved  up 
on  the  high  lands ;  tliat  is,  upon  the  prairies,  where  their 
crops  are  not  exposed  to  the  danger  of  being  swept  away 
every  spring.  You  have  read  the  various  accounts  n  the 
newspapers,  of  the  great  flood  of  1844  in  our  rivers,  which 
go  to  strengthen  what  I  have  said 

Another  advantage  which  the  prairies  have,  is,  they  are 
healthier  than  the  bottom,  timbered  lands.  They  are  higher, 
ind  being  destitute  of  timber  to  interrupt  the  ciMrents  of  air 


APPENDIX.  2691 

a  gentle  breeze  swseps  constantly  over  their  beautifol  rap 
fiice,  that  tends  to  keep  the  atmosphere  pure. 

If  you  will  select  a  situation  on  some  elevation  in  thesa 
prairiei9,  on  the  west  side  of  any  pond  of  water,  or  stream 
that  may  be  in  your  vicinity,  you  may  have  as  good  health 
here  as  you  may  enjoy  any  where  else.  I  say  the  west  side, 
for  through  the  entire  summer,  there  generally  prevails  a 
south-west  wind,  that  will  blow  away  the  noxious  miasma 
that  arises  from  the  surface  of  standing  stagnant  water.  No 
opinion  as  to  a  healthy  location,  is  more  generally  entertain- 
ed in  the  west,  than  the  one  just  advanced. 

You  wish  to  know  what  kind  of  crops  are  the  most 
profitable.  That  will  depend,  in  part,  upon  the  men  who 
undertake  to  raise  a  crop  of  any  kind,  and  convert  it  into 
money.  Com,  wheat,  hemp,  and  tobacco,  are  the  staples 
of  this  State,  and  every  man  should  engage  in  that  kind  of 
farming  which  he  understands.  I  make  this  statement,  be- 
cause I  observe  a  great  many  here  engage  in  the  raising  of 
tobacco,  who,  from  want  of  experience,  do  not  know  how 
to  handle  such  a  crop,  and  generally  lose  their  labor. 
Many,  too,  raise  large  crops  of  hemp,  but  as  they  have  no 
way  or  means  of  breaking  it,  these  crops  are  frequently 
lost.  To  raise  tobacco,  and  make  it  a  profitable  crop,  I  am 
certain,  from  what  I  have  seen,  that  a  man  must  "serve  his 
trade  at  the  business  ;'*  and  to  raise  hemp  with  profit,  a 
former  needs  several  strong  hands. 

Stock  of  every  kind,  such  as  horses,  cattle,  mules,  hogs, 
&c,  are  more  numerous  here  than  in  Virginia,  and  of  the 
very  best  blood.  Our  beautiful  prairies,  in  the  grass  season^ 
ire  dotted,  everywhere,  with  bands  of  the  difiTcrent  kinds  of 
stock,  in  grass  np  to  their  bellies.  And,  it  is  worthy  of  no- 
tice, that  the  prairie-grass  has  the  property  of  fattening 
stock  much  quicker  than  any  of  the  varietieti  of  tame  grass. 
Howeyer  poor  ap  PX  m*^  be,  if  he  has  strength  enough  to 


SM  APPElfDIX. 

get  out  upon  the  prairie,  when  the  tender  grass  begins  to 
shoot  up,  he  seems  immediately  to  spring  up  with  new  life ; 
and,  in  a  few  weeks,  his  naked  bones  are  clothed  with  flesh 

I  observe  that  many  persons,  cCtaing  even  a  thousanc 
miles  to  this  Stale,  encumber  their  trip  with  stock,  fiimitare, 
etc.,  believing  that  these  things  cannot  be  readily  (if  at  all) 
procured  in  this  country.  This  is  a  mistake  which  creates 
much  trouble  and  expense.  A  horse  that  you  can  sell  in 
Virginia  for  sixty  dollars,  you  may  get  here  for  thirty.  A 
yoke  of  catde,  that  will  bring  thirty  dollars  here,  will  bring 
from  fifty  to  sixty  doUars  in  Virginia.  It  is  only  recently 
that  a  yoke  of  oxen,  in  this  countr)%  would  bring  even 
thirty  dollars.  The  Santa  Fe  traders,  however,  now  use 
them  instead  of  mules,  and  they  buy  a  great  many  every 
spring,  and  this  has  brought  them  mto  demand. 

Whilst  you  ask  of  me  "  nothing  but  truth,"  you  say  yon 
**  want  all  of  the  truth,"  as  to  the  health  of  this  State.  It 
cannot  be  denied,  that  this  country  has  been  very  sickly  foi 
the  last  three  or  four  years  ;  but  I  am  constrained  to  believe 
that  Missouri  will  become  one  of  the  hralthiest  of  the  west- 
ern states.  The  face  of  the  country  is  very  undulating,  and 
I  have  yet  to  see  one  of  those  sloughs,  so  common  in  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois.  Indeed,  if  there  be  any  objection  to 
the  face  of  the  countrjs  it  is  too  dry.  Springs  of  water  are 
scarce,  and  many  are  compelled  to  use  cistern-water ;  thai 
is,  rain-water  conveyed  from  the  roofs  of  houses  to  wells 
dug  to  receive  it.  In  a  very  few  hours,  this  water,  whick 
is  very  free  from  mineral,  and  noxious  properties,  and  of 
course  very  pure,  becomes  very  cooL  You  may  think  this 
a  poor  substitute  for  the  fine  springs  in  the  hills  and  moQi»- 
tains  of  Virginia ;  but,  believe  me,  my  dear  sir,  when  I  teD 
you  that  the  majority  of  persons,  after  using  it  awhile,  be 
come  very  fond  of  it. 

Like  all  persons,  who  may  be  thinking  and  lalking  abovj 


APPEKDIZ.  25ft 

moving  to  the  west,  you  ask  a  question  about  the  game  in 
this  State. 

There  are  no  buffalo  within  the  limits  of  Missouri  State, 
nor  any  within  five  hundred  miles  from  the  boundary  line. 
There  are  some  elk,  in  the  unsettled  parts  of  the  State,  and 
deer  are  also  plenty  in  some  places.  But  game  of  every 
kind,  in  a  prairie  country  like  this,  will  vanish  much  faster 
and  sooner,  than  in  timbered  countries.  I  have  no  doubt 
as  to  the  fact,  that  there  will  be  deer  in  the  old  States,  when 
there  will  not  be  one  in  the  limits  of  our  State.  Game  is 
scarcer  about  the  boundary  line,  and  for  some  distance  into 
the  Indian  country,  than  it  is  in  the  interior.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  fact,  the  tribes,  about  the  line,  often  ask  per^ 
mission  to  come  within  the  limits  of  our  State  to  hunt. 
This  privilege  is  granted  by  the  Governor,  if  there  is  no 
objection  raised  by  the  whites  living  where  the  Indians  wish 
to  hunt. 

It  is  yearly  becoming  a  question  of  increasing  interest, 
"  what  is  to  be  the  fate  of  the  tribes  on  our  frontier?"  That 
which  constitutes  their  main  dependence  for  a  living,  (the 
game),  is  fast  disappearing,  and  the  poor  wretches  must 
beg,  steal,  or  starve.  The  day  is  not  very  distant,  when 
our  government  will  be  compelled  to  do  something  to  pre- 
vent the  difficulties  and  annoyances  to  which  our  citizeni 
will  be  exposed,  from  thoir  juxtaposition  to  these  frontiei 
tribM. 


H  UJ^10^R^US_BO«0  Ka 

"TOO     FUNNY     FOR     ANYTUING!" 

JOLLV  TITBITS  FOR  MIRTHFUL  MORTALS. 

^'Josh  Billing,  Bret  Harte,  and  Mark  Twain  rolled  into  one." 

It  la  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  book  contains  tlie  el»oioe«t  humor  In  the  Fnellith  Ian* 
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hits,  exhillratinar  i>torie«u  flowers  of  wit,  excrnciHtinx  Jokes,  uproarious  iwems, 
roUlckloff  sonu*,  laughable  sketches,  darky  oomiealities,  clown's  efforts,  butlou- 
hnrstlnff  eonuudrums,  endmen's  jokes,  plantation  humor,  fuanv  caricatures,  hich- 
Iklatia*  dlaloarucs,  kurions  scenes,  kute  sayines,  ludicrous  drolleries,  and  peculiar 
repartees.    In  fiict.  it  is  a  complete  "Joe  Miller"  and  "Tom  Bown"  in  one  volume.     All  the 

frest  comic  stars  refer  to  it,  because  they  find  in  it  somethinK  to  "  touch  the  funny-bone  "every  tiuie. 
t  contains  an  immense  collection  of  Irish  bulls,  Dutch  comicalities,  and  Yanke«  yarn*, 
affording  fun  for  a  hfetima   llluBtrated  by  lots  of  "  komikal  kuts. "  Price  ao  cts.   By  mail  8  eta.  extra. 

BURDETTE'S    BOOK  OF  COMIC    PARODIES. 

Being  close  imitations,  in  form  and  style  of  meter  and  langna^e,  of  many  of  tLe 
most  popular  pieces  by  the  leading  poets  of  America  and  England. 

Amon^  the  pieces  parodied  In  this  book  are  "Betsy  and  I  have  Busted  Up."  "Schlosser's  Ride," 
"Dot  Mule  Shtood  on  Der  Steanibost  Deck,"  "  Dascher  on  der  Rhine,"  "Der  Goot  Lookin'  Shnow," 
and  numerous  others,  all  of  a  highly  amusing  character,  and  particularly  suitable  for  recitations 

The  book  is  full  of  uproarious  furu  Nearly  every  "  highfalutin'  "  piece  that  "  drowng  the  pit  In 
t«an"  when  recited  in  a  deep,  hoarse,  tragic  style,  is  so  skillfullT  parodied  (by  first-class  vmters)  In 
thia  capital  book,  that  the  reader  hardly  knows  whether  to  laugh  or  cry,—  but  generally  ends  his  di- 
lemma by  breaking  into  a  horse-laugh-  There  is  not  a  dull  piece  in  the  whole  book.  The  author  aeeroa 
to  have  ransacked  all  comic  literature  for  the  best  things  of  the  kind  extant.  There  are  many  yieces 
iu  this  book  immensely  popular,  but  hard  to  find  when  wanted.    Price  tSO  eta.    By  mail  8  ct«.  extra- 

MORSELS    OF    MIRTH     FOR    FUNNY   FELLOWS. 

"Fun  for  evermore,  and  one  day  longer." 
Oram  jam  full  of  kurious,  kweer,  and  komikal  kuts  and  kantankerons  katerwaulings.    The  onint^s- 
cence  of  all  the  Jocular  Jokes,  witty  savintrs,  mirthful  dialogues.  Jolly  promptlia^s,  and 
aalczical  conundruou  ever  spoken,  reao,  thought,  or  written.   Pnce  10  cts.   By  mail  8  r>»a.  extra. 

DARKY  SERMONS,  HUMOROUS  LECTURES, 

AND    BURLESQUE     ORATIONS. 

There  are  enough  of  darky  dialoenes,  nijccer  lectures,  and  liinnymen>  fii^cles  In  thit 
book  to  start  a  dozen  companies  of  minstrel  shows.  Many  of  the  pieces  are  original,  and  all  tirnt-claaa. 
End-men  could  never  end  Bpinningoffside-splittine:  Jokes  with  these  pages  to  study  Aoni.  Getting 
ap  an  amateur  Ethiopian  entertainment  by  aid  of  this  complete  work  will  be  easy  as  "  rodmg  off  a  log.  '• 
Itica  20  cents.     By  mail  8  cents  extra. 

HAWTHORNE'S    IRISH    DIALECT   RECITER. 

Containing:  a  collection  of  the  most  popular  Irish  Stories,  Poetical  and 

Prose  Recitations,  Humorous   IiCtters,  Irish  Witticisms, 

and  Funny  Recitals  in  the  Irish  dialect. 

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It  would  make  a  man  laugh  at  his  mother-in-law's  wake.    Price  80  ceuta.    By  mail  8  cents  extra. 

BETSY     JANE     WARD   {JBetter   i    2  Arte7nus.) 

Hot  Book  of  JOAKS,  with  a  hull  akonnt  of  her  Kortship  and  Haridgre 
to  Artemus,  with  Pikttirs  drawd  hy  Mrs.  B.  J.  Ward. 

r  was  inspired  with  the  comical  showman's  own  spirit  of  fun,  apparently  by  laving  her  night 
e  the  head  of  Artemus  ;  for  every  page  la  so  full  of  satiric  humor  that  it  would  laem  aa  it  the 
OOQM.  WB«  fresh  from  the  brain  of  the  illustrious  showman  himself.  Betsy  shows  in  be:  preface  how 
aWted  she  waa.  bhe  told  Artemus  that  she  "  shood  ware  a  Bloomer,  and  ride  aatraddla  of  hoasea," 
aH)kov«h  he  said  she  "would  look  like  a  straddlebug." 

Well  printed,  and  bouad  iu  illuminated  cotct,  with  eight  full-page  cbaractenatfc  engraving! 
'Mmrly  200  large  l2mo  pagoa.    Price  SO  cents.    By  mail  S  cents  extra. 

BOOK    OF   COMIC    SONGS   AND    RECITATIONS. 

Tba  moflt  complete  aasortmenc  of  coaiic  son'cs,  Jocular  ]Meaas,  mirth -vroTokia^  pl«e«Si 
— a^aaiaraelaMnjf  melodlea  Aver  Issued.    Price  lO  cents.    Sj  nual  Scent*  sx^^        _ 


eapb*^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


flPR2  9  ,3^5 

SEP  1 1  1959 
JUL  6     S5? 

NOV  i9   1959 


Form  L-9-15m-2,'36 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNI 

AT 

LOS  ANGELES 

LIBRAEY 


w^\^^-- 


